Tightrope
by LCDRFireFly
Summary: SEQUEL TO FIRST STEPS WITH NEST! With their feelings for each other sorted out Felice and Lennox have to face new deadly threats with their NEST team. Will their relationship survive the obstacles put in their way not only by the Decepticons but people from their past?
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hey guys! I am back! It took me quite some time to figure it out, but here is the sequel to my Transformers fanfic "First steps with NEST". I hope that it lives up to your expectations and that you enjoy reading this story as much as the first one!**

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers, just Felice and a few other OCs in the story.

W. Lennox x OC

Rating: T, later M.

_tightrope: to be in a difficult situation that demands careful and considered behavior_

* * *

><p><span>Tightrope<span>

_As soon as the plane was in the air, Felice placed her head on Lennox' shoulder and he wrapped an arm around her to pull her close. He tenderly kissed her hair and inhaled her scent. Feeling her soft skin under his fingers, hearing her even breathing William Lennox considered himself a damn lucky man. Not only that a beautiful girl was sleeping in his arms, but this very person was a kickass fighter pilot and NEST soldier and he knew that he could rely on her each and every day. He silently smirked as he caught himself thinking it which outfit suited her better; her uniform or THAT dress._

_As if Felice had sensed his thoughts, she looked up with a sleepy smile._

_"__You are not so bad yourself, Colonel." she murmured while caressing his yaw._

_"__Shut up, Spur." he grunted but she could hear the smirk in his voice. _

_"__Roger that." she whispered and snuggled to his side. It was the first time he'd called her by her call-sign. And she decided to take it as a good omen for whatever was lying ahead of them. A little while later, they both drifted off to the much needed sleep neither of them was able to get last night._

* * *

><p><em>A few months later…<em>

"Stop it. I'm never going to get dressed if you keep it up." Felice slapped Lennox' hands.

"That's the point." he smirked.

Lennox was fresh from the shower with nothing but a towel around his waist. And he was determined to get his lover back into bed. Felice tried to wriggle from his grasp.

"Don't you ever get enough?" she laughed.

"No. Not really."

His devilish smile made her heart skip a beat. While his hands were sliding up her shirt and his soft lips covered hers she absentmindedly wondered if their love wasn't doomed to cool down ever so soon if they kept this pace, but in this moment she couldn't care less. Images of the previous night flashed through her mind and as she was about to give in the doorbell rang.

The noise made Felice jump and as fast as she could, she slipped from Lennox' grasp, indicating him to hide in the bathroom. Straightening out her clothes, she took a deep breath and when she felt ready to face her visitor, she opened the door, but only a bit. She sighed with relief as she saw the familiar face of Epps.

"Did I disturb you… two?" he smirked.

Felice couldn't help but blush, even after five months she was still not used to Epps knowing about her relationship with Lennox. She suspected their team to know about them anyway, but so far no one had dared to make a comment about the issue. And concerning them, they did their best not to let this affect their job. They never arrived at work together nor did they leave at the same time. When being deployed they kept it professional yet on more like a friendship-like level.

Felice was fine with it, but she knew that Lennox was having his difficulties doing so. She was well aware of the watchful eye he kept on her when heading out on missions and she didn't like the fact that he was thereby endangering himself. She'd brought up the issue a few times, but he would just wave away her arguments.

"Actually, yes." she answered Epps' question while glancing to her watch. It was Saturday morning and she had agreed to help him with the old Chevy he'd bought to restore by himself. But he wasn't due until two hours and Felice had a fairly good guess why he'd shown up that early. "I'll be there in a minute."

She closed the door without waiting for his reply and took in a deep breath. She was still a little uncomfortable with this situation even though she considered Epps more a friend than a work mate. She still held her credo about separating work and private life at high stakes and was not willing to give that up anytime soon.

She headed for her bedroom to get changed. Lennox was awaiting her, this time fully clothed, but with a look on his face that made her think she'd rather preferred the one only minutes ago.

"Why didn't you invite him in?" Lennox asked as he watched her switch his shirt for her bra and a tank top.

"Because I was barely decent." she replied while slipping into her blue faded jeans which were already stained with oil and dirt from her work at Epps' car. She was about to go for the bathroom, when Lennox stopped her, placing his hands on her hips to stall her.

"You're a terrible liar, you know that, right?" he smirked.

"Fine." Felice sighed and came right to the point. "Can't you understand that…"

"… you don't want this to become official?" he ended the sentence for her and the hint of disappointment caused Felice' heart to sink.

He still hadn't understood why she was so hesitant about making their relationship public. Enlisted soldiers were generally not allowed to date one another, especially when they were working in such close proximity. You had to be damn sure about your partner to come out with this or this would affect your career immensely. For Lennox it didn't present much of a problem. He was the leader of NEST and had done enough for this country let alone the planet to be safe from such mundane things.

Felice on the other hand was still a newbie in NEST and the only female working with this black ops group, so she was under the microscope just because of minority. Her transfer to Lennox' unit had caused quite some trouble and Felice still hadn't figured out how he'd managed to sell her away from her fighter squadron in less than ten weeks. She knew that Lennox would have her back when it came to the crunch, but she rather preferred that she would never have to play that card.

"I do. But not now."

"But it's just Epps." Lennox pressed on.

Felice rolled her eyes. It was a mystery to her how the man in front of her, the esteemed Colonel and head of NEST, always keeping a level head while fighting against Decepticons, would want to act so short-sightedly and impulsive. She really loved him, but when it came to this particular topic, she couldn't help but questioning his decision-making skills.

"Yeah, and if Epps just has one of his famous moments he spills the guts to Jones and there we go."

"So what?"

"So what?!" Felice exclaimed, unable to stay calm. "What do you think will happen if word gets to our boss that I am sleeping with my CO?"

"We're consenting adults."

Felice couldn't help but laugh. But it was a bitter laugh.

"And we're still enlisted and bound to some rules as you seem to have forgotten, Colonel Lennox." she emphasized the last words. Seeing the hurt feeling in his eyes, she collected herself and continued in a much more gentle voice. "I love you, Will. I really do. But I am not ready to take this step and I really hope you can respect that."

She held his gaze, searching for an answer in his blue eyes she'd become so familiar to look into. Then his expression softened.

"Of course." he said as he placed a strand of hair behind her ear. He could relate to her concerns but he didn't see such a big problem in telling their team mates. He suspected them to know about them anyway. But he would not act against Felice' wish if she was asking him that directly.

"Thank you." she whispered as she leaned in to kiss him. Feeling his soft lips on hers was still somewhat addicting and she didn't resist as he deepened the kiss. But a renewed knock on the door reminded her about her guest. With an apologetic smile, she turned away hastily braiding her hair back into a bun while checking her appearance in the mirror then went to the door and finally let Epps in.

"Please tell me you brought coffee." she pleaded as she watched him walk into her kitchen.

"'Course." Epps smirked as he put down the cupholder. Now, Felice realized that there were three cups. "Brown with sugar for the lady, DeCaf for me- I might really get a heart attack if we pull just one more thing like Chicago" he added conspiratorially, causing Felice laugh "and black for Mister lover boy." he ended his theatric introduction with a grin while Felice thought her heart might just come to a standstill. She was about to tell off Epps, when the last addressed person entered the room.

"You call me that again and I personally make sure you end up in recruit training." Lennox scolded his friend, but not without returning his smirk.

Since the recent events in Chicago they had to cope with a massive amount of applications for NEST. The director of national intelligence, Charlotte Mearing, had ordered this upgrade of soldiers in their division, but the applicants tended to marvel Optimus and his friends more than focusing on their job. It took a lot of patience to sort through the recruits and pick out those who deemed fit for the task and Epps was known not to be the most patient person around.

"Fine, you won."

"Thought so." Lennox muttered still smirking while he took a sip of his coffee.

"Are you coming with us?" Felice asked.

"No, I am heading back to HQ." Lennox replied, watching her expression change into a frown. He knew that she didn't approve of him working even on weekends but she understood why he had to.

Shortly after their mission in China, General Morshower had assigned Lennox and his team to a taskforce to hunt down a man named only the White Ghost in the few intelligence reports that existed about him. He was rumored to lead a group of insurgents specifically targeting special ops teams.

Lennox had heard about the attacks, each time feeling angry that the enemy had struck again, but when the first extraterrestrial metal parts had been found on the site of an IED explosion that had killed five Marines, General Morshower had approached him, asking for his help and his assets. And as they look a closer look at the other attacks, Ratchet discovered a particular interesting Energon signature on one of the scenes and it became clear to the Colonel and his team that the White Ghost was working with what remained of the Decepticons on earth.

So far, they'd chased down leads in Bosnia, Colombia, Jordan and a couple of other countries but each time they'd been too late and the soldiers they'd intended to rescue dead or severely injured. It was frustrating to be always one step behind and each time they returned from a deployment it took Lennox more and more effort to stay positive.

_"__It's not your fault."_ Felice had told him one evening as they had had a quiet dinner at his place, nursing not only their physical wounds – nothing serious, just a few scratches and cuts – but also their emotional ones. Ten good soldiers had been killed in an ambush, leaving ten families mourning the loss of their loved ones.

_"__But it feels like it."_ Lennox had replied gloomily and when Felice had awoken early next day, she'd found his side of the bed empty, a note on the bedside table saying that he was at Ops.

Now, she watched him bidding her and Epps goodbye before turning and leaving for work on a Saturday morning once more.

"No progress yet?" Epps asked as he looked after their friend and CO. While Felice had been assigned to work on the sparse Intel they had gotten from the Air Force, Navy and Marines – all had lost men in the recent attacks – Epps was in charge of the weapons department of NEST, so he did not know everything that was going on in the operations center of their HQ.

"No." Felice shook her head, sighing. It was frustrating and she wanted nothing more than to catch his scumbag, but she needed a break from their exhausting job from time to time and today she would allow her mind to relax by helping Epps with his car.

"Let's go." she said and grabbed her keys from the counter. "I cannot stand another week of Sideswipe's teasing me if we don't get it running today."


	2. Chapter 2

While Felice and Epps enjoyed their rare day of downtime, Lennox was sitting at his desk, going through the incident reports again.

The ambush at a raid in South Africa - six Marines dead, five wounded.

The IED explosion in Afghanistan - four injured, five missed and likely to be dead as well.

The capture and execution of two SEALs in Colombia while taking down a drug lord.

The list went on and on and with every casualty, Lennox anger and frustration grew. There wasn't a clue how the Decepticons were helping the White Ghost. Not one sighting of the Autobots' enemies had been reported at either of the locations, but Energon readings showed clearly that they had been there.

It had left not only him but Optimus and Ratchet confused, but had also raised some questions about NEST. Even though the other forces were glad to have NEST helping to catch the White Ghost; they saw the presence of the Autobots as a guarantor for a fast victory. More than once, Lennox had told them that this was hardly ever the case, but they would not listen but instead round on the Autobots for not saving their comrades.

A sudden knock on his door roused him from his gloomy thoughts. Frowning, he looked up from his files. He'd planned to get a few things done while the HQ was empty and didn't like the interruption.

"Come." he said crisply and straightened in his chair, wondering who it was.

The door opened and in came none other than Charlotte Mearing, Director of National Intelligence. Her face was stony as she watched the Colonel come to his feet to greet her.

"Director Mearing, what an honor." Lennox said coldly.

"Glad to be here, Colonel." she replied without meaning it.

Ever since Chicago they had been at daggers drawn, because she had ordered the deportation of the Autobots and if it hadn't been for Optimus and his smart mind, they would have been enslaved to the Decepticons now. Furthermore, she had made quite a fuss about Felice' transfer to his team and only when General Morshower had vouched for her, she had signed the papers.

"Please, have a seat." he gestured towards the chair in front of his desk. "What can I do for you?"

Director Mearing sat down, looking at him intently, before leaning back and commencing to speak.

"From the latest Intel of your team, I see that you haven't made any progress in locating and capturing the White Ghost, it that right?" she asked.

"Yes." he swallowed the word _ma'am_. She'd rounded on him for that the first time they'd met. If she didn't want him to show her that form of politeness, he more than gladly accepted it.

"Then I think you are organizing your resources wrong."

It took Lennox all his self-control to keep an impassive face. Nobody had told him how he was supposed to do his job in years. He was not stubborn and accepted any advice from General Morshower or any other military personnel when seen fit, but nobody least of all Charlotte Mearing, would tell him how to deploy his team.

"With all due respect." which wasn't much, if any, Lennox thought to himself as he spoke. "We are doing everything we can to find the White Ghost."

"But obviously, it isn't enough." Mearing replied snappishly.

"Director Mearing, what is your point?" Lennox asked, propping his hands on his desk as he looked her directly in the eyes. If it wasn't for this scumbag who had killed soldiers all around the globe he would be at Epps' place, enjoying his weekend with his friends. In short: he wasn't in the mood to play games.

Charlotte Mearing smiled coldly. Then she reached into her handbag, pulling out a file, laying it in front of the Colonel. Lennox peered at it. It had the emblem of the Navy imprinted on the cover and contained several documents.

"I think it's time to reorganize your unit." she said. "Your team has obviously made an impact on the latest alien confrontations, but it seems that since you are hunting such a versatile enemy like the White Ghost your methods seem a little outdated."

She paused, trying to get a read on him, but Lennox merely returned her stare unblinkingly. He'd served so many years; he knew how to disguise his thoughts.

"This is why we, General Morshower and I, have decided to finally commence the naval NEST program. Since the Navy with its carriers is deployed all over the world, a fighter squadron for example would act as a quick response force whereas you and your team always need a certain amount of time to reach the battle zone. And since you have a former fighter pilot in your team, we suggest that she will train and ultimately lead those teams."

Lennox looked up from the files. It was as though a stone had dropped into his stomach.

"But Commander Manning is still new to our operational procedures." he started in what he knew was a weak attempt to buy himself some time. He should have seen this coming. "It would be better, if she stayed with us for…"

"I remember that General Morshower had informed you about this program before, is that right?" Mearing cut through his speech.

Lennox nodded, perplexed.

"And am I informed correctly that you have agreed to her transfer back to the Navy as needed and requested only _a few months_ to train her?"

"Yes, but…"

"Then I see no reason why she is not ready for this job. She's been with your team for over a year and now she will start the job we had originally in mind for her."

"She's a valuable part of this team and…"

"She's an asset." Mearing snapped, fixing Lennox with her steely grey eyes. "And this is why she will be deployed as we see fit. Tell her about the job. We await her reply ASAP."

And without another word, she rose and left the office, leaving Lennox standing there, the whole magnitude of this information sinking in slowly, pulling him into an abyss.

* * *

><p>"Hey, you don't look well. Is everything all right?" Felice asked worried as they met at Epps' place to watch the football game together later that evening.<p>

"I'm fine." Lennox assured her while busying himself with a beer, surprised that he'd lied to her so smoothly, because quite the contrary was the case.

Ever since Charlotte Mearing had left his office, despair seemed to drown him and he could not think about any solution for this mess. He knew he'd pushed his luck by accepting the deal Morshower had offered him for Felice' transfer, but what fool had he been to think that the General would never collect this debt?

He simply did not see the reason why the Navy and especially the fighter squadrons should be involved in any conflict. They were the first to die when fighting the Decepticons. He'd seen it twice; in Egypt while they were trying to revive Optimus and in Chicago when the 'Cons had taken over the city. The enemy had shot down the aircrafts one after one, leaving the pilots no chance to eject themselves from their planes but facing instant death. It had been the very reason he'd sold Felice away from her fighter squadron and now he was forced to push her back into a cockpit to meet the fate he'd wanted to protect her from at all costs.

_You better come up with a plan_, Lennox told himself grimly as he watched the football game not paying the slightest attention to it. _And you better do it fast._

* * *

><p>The week began with the dull routine of weapons maintenance followed by their usual training circuit the Autobots had set up for their human allies at an abandoned airstrip west of DC. But since their most recent deployments had clearly been a fail, nobody was in the mood to practice what evidently had not been good enough to safe those now dead soldiers.<p>

"Hey! What the hell was that supposed to be?" Lennox hollered as he turned towards Paul, one of their most recent additions to the team.

Their team mate had just missed a lot more targets than usual, causing his fictional enemies played by Jones, Mitchell and Felice to shoot him with their toy guns – as they called the weapons filled with paintballs – with ridiculous ease.

"Get a grip for fuck's sake!"

Felice put the safety back on her gun as she watched the Colonel round on their comrade. She'd witnessed this kind of situation a few times in the past weeks during training. Those men who had joined NEST after Chicago somehow thought that even though it had been a close call back then, winning a fight against the Decepticons seemed the only possible outcome. But Felice knew better than to take their victories for granted. With every failed attempt to catch the White Ghost, she and her team mates who had fought in Chicago, Ray Jones, Scott, Epps and Mitchell among them, worked more fiercely, trying their hardest to improve, get better, come up with a new strategy.

Now, the young woman heard the man mumble some apology followed by another outburst from Lennox for not answering him in a manner fitting a spec-ops soldier and sighed. She could see how frustrated he was about the recent events because he usually was not the one to shout, but rather give calm objective advice to the ones serving under him.

They had to catch that guy or Lennox would not let one of the newbies live long enough to even pass their final NEST qualifications. But before she could pursue her thoughts, she saw him walking away, talking to somebody on the phone, an expression on his face she knew all too well but didn't like at all. Unconsciously tightening the grip around her weapon while she mentally readied herself for what was about to come: another deployment. The White Ghost had struck again.

"We need to get to Andrews right now. Move! Let's go!"

They piled into the Autobots and when they exited their allies alt modes a short while later, jogging towards the hangar to get their gear, Lennox shouted after them: "I want everyone ready to leave in 30 minutes!"

His look fell on Paul, who'd deliberately chosen not to be in the same car as his CO.

"Now, you get to prove if you've practiced enough." he growled before he turned away, heading to Ops to be briefed on the situation.

Roughly an hour later they were airborne, flying towards – Felice still could not believe it, so much it had surprised yet shocked her – North Korea. They gathered in a half circle around the makeshift table in the cargo area of the C-17 that stood at their use 24/7, looking at the maps displayed in front of them.

"What is it this time, Lennox?" Jones asked, but obviously worried about their destination more than the actual op.

"Twenty-four hours ago, CIA lost contact with one of their assets of their special activities division. The person was part of a mission investigating the progress of North Koreas nuclear weapons program. The CIA and SAD informed JSOC and they sent SEAL Team Six, but shortly after they touched down, they lost contact with them too."

There was a collective intake of breath as they processed the news.

_If SEAL Team Six is not able to extract the asset..._ Felice forbid herself to pursue her gloomy thoughts though she could read similar sentiments in her team mates' faces.

"However," Lennox continued, "Energon readings suggest Decepticon activity in the area around here." He marked a point on the map with his finger. "We will airdrop in here…" he gestured to another location, approximately one mile west of the first one. "… and continue on foot. Optimus, Ratchet and Sides will come with us while Bee and Dino secure our exfil route. Any objections?"

He looked up in each of his soldiers faces but found only grim determination reflected in it.

"OK. Our ETA is in 16 hours. I suggest you get some rest now. Dismissed."

Felice watched her team mates returning to their seats, getting comfy. She still found it hard to sleep on a plane while being deployed; a habit so deeply engraved from her job as a fighter pilot, she could hardly ever overcome it. She strolled over to Lennox, who gazed after his men, a particularly sinister look on his face as he watched Paul, whom he had scolded earlier, sit down.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a sec?" she asked tentatively.

He turned to her, relaxing immediately as he looked at her.

"Sure, what's up?"

"Have you thought about the teams yet?"

Normally, they would split up in two teams and because Lennox thought that they should all be able to fulfil every task, he mixed them frequently. Technically it was a good idea… if Felice hadn't found herself on the Colonel's team every time. First, she didn't mind, but after some time it had started to annoy her. She could not shake the feeling that he was doing it to keep an eye on her and she clearly remembered him taking some quite unnecessary risks just because she was with him.

_It is time for a change_, Felice thought. His most recent outburst at Paul had given her a perfect chance. And even though she could not influence the Colonel's decision, she could at least ask for what she had in mind.

"No, why?" he replied, looking suspiciously at her.

"Well, if Paul puts another toe out of line today, I think he will not survive the anger of Colonel William Lennox." she stated with a smirk.

"Felice, what is your point?" Lennox frowned, though returning her smirk.

"Put him on the second team and let me lead it, Will. Please."

Lennox looked intently at her for several seconds. He knew Paul was just a welcomed excuse for her to persuade him for what he should have done weeks ago. Everyone on his team had taken the lead at some operation except for Felice. He'd postponed it the longest time for the sake of her own safety, if one should ever use the word safe in the context of their work. But as he looked at his men and then back at the young woman standing in front of him, her eyes blazing with determination, he found it very hard to deny her request. But he wasn't prepared to let her lead that team of rookies on her own.

"Fine, but Jones will be with you. Just in case."

Felice rolled her eyes at him, but not without a genuinely thankful nod.

"I have a whole team with me. I think they will watch my back."

There was a flicker of sadness in his eyes as Lennox thought back at the Hatch-incident that had caused Felice so much trouble. But as if Felice had read his thoughts, she smiled reassuringly.

"They've learned their lesson. Trust me. You made it very clear."

Lennox returned her smile grudgingly, not entirely convinced. But he could not pursue the matter any further because the pilot had called him and he had to go.

"Get some rest." he said before turning around and while he headed towards the cockpit, Felice sat down, closing her eyes, eventually dozing off while listening to some music.

She was roused from her dreams a few hours later by a slight shake and slowly opened her eyes to find Epps standing in front of her.

"It's time to get ready." he told her, already fastening the straps of his parachute.

Felice nodded and got to her feet, starting to gear up as well. Fifteen minutes later, she walked towards the open hatch of the cargo plane, the icy wind prickling on her face as she peered into the darkness. She turned her head to see Lennox standing a few feet away. They exchanged a look, then nodded their good lucks and as the operator gave them the thumbs-up, stepped forward, vanishing into the dark night.


	3. Chapter 3

_I hate this. I hate this so much!_ Felice thought angrily as her feet touched the ground and the parachute pulled her backwards as it caught in the undergrowth Lennox had marked as their landing spot, the straps of her harness cutting painfully into her shoulders. She was trained to fly an airplane, to maintain airborne! Not to jump out of it in the dead of night, not seeing an inkling what was going on around her.

The air was warm and unpleasantly humid even at this late hour and the loud noises of insects hidden in the bushes and shrubs around her didn't fail her to be reminded that they had just landed in a jungle. Extracting herself out of the harness, she could hear the metallic clicking as their team mates got rid of their chutes a few feet to her right. Peering further into the darkness, she could see the Autobots in close proximity through her night vision goggles; walking carefully towards them, their outlines a greenish blur against the dark trees. She proceeded towards her team mates who had already gathered some two-hundred feet away. When she reached the group, Lennox started to divide them into two teams. There was some shuffling as they repositioned, a quick hushed conversation about who was to take which position; then they turned to their CO and listened as he spoke quietly.

"Intel says that the hostages are being held captive in a bunker two miles north of here. We split and approach from west and east to catch them if they decide to move. We meet at the bunker entrance. You guys follow Felice down the river. We take the ridgeline on the opposite. The Autobots will stay behind us and provide backup as needed. Let's go."

They all nodded in approval and made their way into the deep forests.

Felice and her team moved carefully, trying to detect anything that might be out of the ordinary. It wasn't her first deployment at night, but never had she been forced to operate in the dense forests of such a particularly hostile country. It wasn't enough that they were heading out to hunt Decepticons and the White Ghost. They were on foreign soil; a dark mission which meant should they be captured nobody would ever acknowledge their existence let alone care to rescue them.

She pushed the thought from her mind, focusing on the black-and-greenish landscape as she moved silently through the undergrowth. At some point she halted, radioing to Optimus whether he could detect any Decepticons lurking nearby, but the area seemed to be clear. They'd been heading south for an hour or so, the gurgle of the nearby river their invisible guiding line, when the outlines of a concrete building appeared in some distance.

"Lennox, this is Manning. We've found the bunker." she whispered into her earpiece while she raised her fist to indicate her team to halt.

"Hold your position, we will be right there. TAKE COVER!"

Felice winced as she heard shots being fired in close proximity.

"Lennox, do you copy? What's your status?" she whispered, anxiously waiting for an answer.

"We've been made! Go in without us, don't let them escape!"

"Copy that." she replied and indicated her team to follow her into the bunker. It was old and mossy in some places and seemed to be abandoned, but as Felice ordered one of her team to check the heat signature of the building with his device, she saw about a dozen people standing about 20 feet away - belowground. Still, shots rang through the air, but she dismissed them and gestured towards the bunker entrance, taking the lead as they enclosed it.

They slowly made their way deep into the facility, but no one showed up. Her heart thumping with adrenaline, Felice moved around corner after corner until at last, she saw a flicker of light. She removed her night vision gear as she enclosed the light. It came from a door that stood ajar and the end of one hallway motioned her team mates to position themselves around the door, then she counted down to the breach.

They burst into the room, gun raised, facing about twenty armed men, pointing their guns either at the NEST soldiers or at their hostages, five SEALs and the CIA operator. It was odd that they hadn't opened fire at them immediately, Felice thought as she got an overview of the situation. They must have expected them.

"Let them go." Jones said, jerking his rifle at the hostages.

"Not gonna happen." a tall Asian man replied in almost perfect English.

Felice glanced at him. He seemed to be commanding the men pointing the weapons at them, but was obviously not the leader for he turned around, his eyes flickering towards a corner. Felice' gaze followed the man's eye movement for a split- second. A man stood in the shadows of the room. He was as tall as his Asian companion and had long hair. But his face remained obscured by the lack of light. She could see the man nodding and instantly knew what was coming next.

"Well then gentlemen, we have a problem." he sneered.

But Felice' men had foreseen his action. They dived for cover while opening fire at the enemy, trying their hardest not to kill the people they'd come to rescue.

It was a relentless fight, Felice' ears ringing with the deafening echo of the gunfire in the low-ceilinged room. They might have stood a chance, but after a few minutes into the gunfight, a new sound apart from the gunfire, appeared. The sound of boots on concrete and yelling. But the voices were not American as she'd expected, they were Asian. They'd walked right into an ambush. Whirling around, Scott and Jones pointed their guns at the attackers, but quickly realized that they were too few to stand a chance. Weighting their chances of survival and praying that Lennox and his team would come to their aid, Felice and Jones exchanged a quick consenting nod and indicated their team members to lower the weapons.

It was the most terrifying thing she'd ever done, Felice thought as she laid down her rifle and surrendered herself to the hostiles, allowing them to put her hands into chains. Her whole body trembling, desperately trying to hide her fear, Felice watched as her team mates were stripped of their weapons and bound with chains to the ceiling. When they reached her, the man in front of her pulled the mask from her head, making a sound of surprise.

"Look at that. A female soldier."

A wicked smile emerged on his features and it made Felice sick. She knew what was coming next. It was the very reason women weren't allowed in ground conflict. If they were captured they could be used as leverage to force their male comrades to comply.

She was shoved forwards and bound to the ceiling like her team mates, now facing the six hostages who knelt on the opposite wall of the room, bound and gagged. She looked into the eyes of the soldiers and the CIA agent, wanting to tell them that help was on the way. The CIA agent just looked terrified despite his training, and it didn't raise her spirits much. But as her glance swept towards the SEALs, she found them reciprocating her look with unswerving determination. They were grateful that somebody had come to their aid, regardless whether they'd succeeded in recuing them or not. She gave a tiny nod of encouragement in their direction, before she redirected her eyes towards their captors and focused on them.

While her taller male comrades still could stand relatively comfortable, her feet barely touched the ground, the chains pulling her shoulder blades up painfully as she dangled from the ceiling. The tall man, who'd spoken before, stepped forward and looked at his new hostages.

"Who's in charge?" he asked.

No one responded.

It happened so quickly, Felice barely saw it yet she could not bite back a scream. He had drawn a gun and shot one of the kneeling hostages.

Her eyes were glues to the dead man lying in front of her, blood streaming onto the wet concrete floor. His comrades had lunged forward, but were pushed backwards into their previous position by their captors. There was a lot of shouting, but Felice did only understand bits and pieces. Her head was filled with just one thought.

_Another man lost his life because we failed_, she thought; bile rising in her throat as she stared at the dead SEAL. Her hesitation and cowardice to reveal herself as team leader had cost this man his life. She blinked back angry tears that had welled up in her eyes and turned her head. She caught Jones' warning look, but before he could react and take charge, she spoke up.

"I am." she said with all the self-confidence she could muster. She was determined not to show any fear, any sign of weakness and hoped that it would encourage her men to hang on until Lennox would find them; hopefully in time.

The tall Asian man turned. He strolled over to her position, stopping right in front of her, looking at her intently. He touched her cheek with a leering smile and unbraided her ponytail so that her hair flooded over her shoulders. That was his first mistake. He had come close, close enough to be within her reach. Felice jerked her head forward, breaking her opponent's nose with a sickening crack. He stumbled back, howling in pain and clutching his face.

"Fine, have it your way." he muttered, spitting blood on the floor as he had regained his composure. He approached her once more, but this time careful to stay out of her reach.

"Are you alone or are there more of you coming?"

Felice did not answer, looking him directly in the eyes. She knew what was coming next, but she groaned with pain as his fist connected with her yaw nevertheless.

"Wanna be a tough girl, huh?" he Asian man asked and another bow hit her in the face, then in her stomach.

"Stop it!"

"Paul, don't you tell him a word!" Felice groaned.

"But…"

"That's an order, solider!" she yelled before she got another nasty punch.

"But, you are not in the position to give orders, Sweetheart." the stranger said. "Let's see how far you're willing to go."

He nodded to his accomplices. Two of them stepped forwards, guns pointed at her team mates.

"If hurting you is not loosening your tongue, maybe hurting your friend will." he sneered and looked to his men.

The shot rang through the air, followed by a scream, it nearly broke Felice. She looked to her side. Paul was writhing with pain, the fabric of his pants glistening with blood from a wound at his thigh.

"It's just a flesh wound. He won't die." the man said softly. "But I swear he will if you don't start talking. Are – you – alone?"

She glanced at Paul, the man Lennox had yelled at only hours before for his lack of commitment and felt terrible. She could not tell them. This mission was more important than his life, than any of their lives. But if by some miracle she survived this, was she prepared to live with the guilt of being responsible for the death of a team mate?

The man raised his gun again, taking off the safety, aiming at Paul's head this time. She was about to lose it, when she suddenly heard gunshots fired somewhere nearby. Yells flooded through the air enclosing fast. The next second Lennox and his team appeared in the doorframe opening fire at the enemy immediately. The hostiles had not even fired a single shot because their weapons had been trained at their hostages and as they turned around to defend themselves, it was already too late. Lennox' men swarmed into the room, shielding the hostages with their bodies while the Colonel had trained his gun at the last remaining enemy.

"Let her go!"

"She's dead if you shoot me!" the Asian man yelled; pressing his gun against Felice' head and using her as a human shield.

Lennox could see her close her eyes in terror. She was bleeding from several cuts on her forehead and strands of her blonde hair where stuck on her pale face. He took the safety off his rifle and tightened the grip around the handle.

Meanwhile, Felice' mind was racing. She knew that she had to do something or she would not come out of it alive. She opened her eyes and gazing intently at Lennox. Praying that he would get his cue and that her plan would work, she did not dare to breathe a sigh of relief as she saw the imperceptible nod.

Without wasting another second, she grabbed the chains next to her wrists, gathering all her power and attracted her knees. Then she kicked her captor so that he stumbled back. With one swift motion she pulled herself up at her chains to the ceiling so that Lennox had a clear shot. And sure enough, the double-tap from his rifle killed the man immediately.

There was a moment silence, before Felice let out a shaky breath, lowering herself onto her feet with a groan. Lennox indicated two of his men to check the figures lying on the ground for weapons and if any of them had survived, before he lowered his rifle and strode towards Felice, untying her from the metal chains while Epps released the others.

"You're late." she said in a weak attempt to make a joke, rubbing her wrists as soon as the chains clattered to the ground, but her shaky voice proved her a liar.

"You're welcome." he muttered, his face obscured with his mask so that she could not see his face, but his eyes were piercing through hers with worry. "Are you alright?"

Felice nodded and glanced around. Her team mates were untying the other hostages and as far as she could see none of their captors had survived. She quickly counted the bodies; then turned to Lennox again.

"Did you get him?" she asked eagerly.

Lennox frowned.

"Who?"

"The man…" she hesitated as she saw the puzzled look in his eyes. "There was a man when we breached. He was standing in the corner over there. I could not see his face but he was the one calling the shots."

Lennox stood there, thunderstruck.

"Wait here." he said and turned towards the hostages they'd come to rescue, talking quietly to them.

"Did they get a look at him?" she asked as he returned.

"No." he sighed, then tensed; listening hard to what must be a radio transmission for he still wore his earpiece. "Copy that. Use all available resources. Don't let them escape!"

He turned towards his team.

"The Autobots are engaging several Decepticons. Jones, make sure the hostages are safe."

Jones nodded, assembling five men and giving quick orders to treat the wounded. Felice was just about to ask why she'd been relieved of her team leader spot, when the Colonel spoke again.

"Manning, with me. Let's move!"

Beaten, bleeding and sore, Felice did not move but looked at her friend. She was not the one to turn down a fight, but just this once she'd rather preferred to stay put.

"Lennox…" she started, but all she got was an 'I-am-not-letting-you-out-of-my-sight-now'-glare from her CO. Sighing exasperatedly, she picked up her guns and gear and followed him out of the room.

* * *

><p>But the odds were not in their favor once again. As soon as they'd exited the bunker, they found themselves in the middle of the action. Bee and Sides were battling three Decepticons of their own size at once while Optimus and Ratchet were fighting a nasty looking 'Con who was looking like something between a spider and a squid. He had eight legs and long tentacles which fired and slashed in every direction.<p>

"Mitch, check the heat images." Lennox panted as they took cover in the bunker entrance once more. "He has to be somewhere close. We cannot help the Autobots now." he glanced at the two fights in front of them.

Mitch pulled out his tablet and typed for a few seconds, then looked up.

"He's running north. A 'Con is with him."

"Dino, with us!" Lennox hollered and took off into the direction Mitch had pointed out. Running through the undergrowth at breakneck speed, Felice had trouble to keep up with the team mates. Her injuries were hurting, but she ignored the pain and carried on. Dino was a few feet ahead of them, trying to catch the 'Con which was probably carrying or elsewise transporting the White Ghost. But after a few more minutes of running, he stopped.

"Dino? What's happened?" Lennox asked slightly out of breath.

"I've lost him." the Autobot replied, peering into the darkness. "He's just disappeared."

Lennox cursed loudly, looking at Mitch who had already pulled out his tablet and was checking the heat imagery. But the map did not show a thing.

Swearing once more, Lennox ordered them to retreat and in grim silence they made their way back to the bunker at a more moderate pace, much to Felice' relief. When they returned to their team mates, the fight between the Autobots and Decepticons had come to an end, but no bodies – human or alien – were to be seen.

"They retreated." Optimus told them as they reached at the bunker entrance, where Jones and the rest of the team were awaiting them.

"Let's get to the rally point." Lennox muttered, not commenting on the bad news of his Autobot friend.

Felice sighed silently, just as disappointed as her CO, and followed him and their team members into the darkness. While they walked to their rally point, Jones and Scott supported Paul. While chasing the target with Dino, the soldiers wound had been given first aid. The field dressing now wrapped around his upper thigh shone brightly in the darkness, yet Felice could make out blood soaking the bandage, turning it dark in some places. Every now and then, she glanced towards her team mate, seeing that the young man had become disturbingly pale over the past half-hour. So Felice took his full gear in addition to her own. Her injuries were forgotten the moment she'd seen her wounded comrade. Wounded because of her, she thought angrily as her body ached under the extra weight of Paul's gear.

When Lennox saw what she was doing, he paused to wait for her, his voice tight and clipped as he spoke.

"I don't think that this is necessary."

Without looking at him, Felice continued to march through the pitch-black night, focusing on not tripping because of the additional load.

"He needs all the help he can get if you want him to return home without bleeding to death." she said irritably, hoisting Paul's rifle securely over her shoulder.

"You've taken some nasty punches too. Let someone else carry that stuff." he said again, but his words went unheeded. Angry about her stubbornness, his temper got the better of him as he growled: "That's an order, solider."

"Don't you dare pulling rank on me!" Felice snapped, keeping her voice low but spitting out every word.

"Fine." Lennox replied, equally pissed as he glanced at his team mate and friend. What he did not know was that Felice was blaming herself for Paul's injury.

If she hadn't hesitated Paul wouldn't have been shot. If she had just answered the man immediately, the hostage might be alive. She was a coward; she should have stood up for the men trusted to her command in a manner fitting a Navy officer. And Lennox treating her like a rookie was just more than she could stand right now.

She heard him mutter something decidedly X-rated as he strode away, but she did not care. All she wanted was to get on that plane and go home.

* * *

><p>The flight back stateside went quietly. Most of the men were sleeping exhaustedly while the two medics that flew with Lennox' team all the time treated the gunshot-wound of Paul and checked the hostages they'd managed to rescue. The body for the dead SEAL was lying on a stretcher in the rear end of the plane, shielded from view and covered with a blanket.<p>

Felice had insisted that the others were checked first because her bruises were not that bad. When she finally sat down on the stretcher, the doctor examining the cut on her eyebrow and closing it with clips, she did not pay much attention. It was her first time as team leader and she had screwed up big time. One dead, one injured. She still could not believe it, but it had happened and nobody would ever forget about it.

"May I?"

She looked up just to see that the medics had vanished behind the curtains that separated her from the rest of the team. Instead Lennox was standing there, arms crossed in front of his chest, looking worried. Felice made an exasperated hand movement. She did not want to talk to him right now.

"Do I have a choice?" she muttered, returning to stare blankly ahead.

Lennox did not move, but observed her closely. She'd taken some quite nasty punches he saw now. Aside from the cut on her eyebrow, a bruise was sprouting on her yaw and one right under her hairline. He fleetingly remembered Jones telling him that she'd broken the Asian man's nose with a head butt and could not withhold a smirk.

"I heard, you put up quite a good fight." he said, still smirking.

Felice looked at him, eyes blazing with anger.

"Yeah, but obviously it wasn't enough."

"What happened there is not your fault, Felice." Lennox said softly, giving up his attempt to enlighten her mood. He knew she blamed herself. "It is tragic that one soldier had lost his life, but you've done an incredible job saving those men from the White Ghost. And it was the first time we could get a look at the 'Cons, it will help us catch them. I know it's hard, but…" he stopped, because Felice had come to her feet so suddenly it startled him.

"You don't know a thing." she hissed, standing right in front of him, eyes locked with his. "One casualty might be acceptable by your standards, but never by mine."

She turned and was about to stride past him, when Lennox grabbed her arm, stalling her in place.

"What?" she snapped.

Lennox opened his mouth, but closed it again. It was fruitless. She would not listen to him, not in this state of mind; he knew it as Felice held his gaze coldly. His hand slipped from her arm and without wasting another second walked briskly towards her seat, where she sat down, arms crossed in front of her chest and eyes closed, remaining almost motionless until they touched down at Andrews AFB.


	4. Chapter 4

Lennox looked up from his files with a sigh, his thoughts trailing to the person whose name he'd just read in the after action report of their last deployment.

With mounting unease, he had observed Lieutenant Commander Felice Manning over the past weeks. Since they'd returned from North Korea she had changed. Her expression was grim when hunched over the Intel they received to filter of any useful information on the White Ghost and though she pretended that everything was fine when with the team, she could not fool him. He had watched her training alone in the gym one evening and he was fairly certain that a few tears had mingled with the sweat running down her face while beating the crap out of a punching bag. He had tried to talk to her, but she'd cast off his attempts each time.

He could relate to her nevertheless. It was always hard to loose somebody in a fight. In her years of service with the Navy she had undoubtedly witnessed quite a few people dying in the line of duty, but she'd always been in her fighter jet, separated from the battlefield and the anguish and grief as comrades died next to their team mates. Now, she was experiencing it first hand and it was not the first time Lennox wondered whether it had been the right decision to pull her into this – _his – _line of work.

Lennox' look fell on the manila folder at the far end of his desk. It was the one containing the information about the naval NEST program. He glared at it.

In addition to his sorrows about the young woman's state of mind, Director Mearing had called him twice, asking whether Felice had made her decision yet. Both times he had been able to get rid of her quickly, but he knew that he had to tell Felice because if he stove off Mearing once more, she would be standing on his doorstep and then it would be too late.

Knowing that he would not get his work done with his head full of thoughts, he stood from his desk with an impatient sigh. He had to get rid of the issue. So he went to look for Felice, a plan forming in his mind that he dearly hoped would work.

He found her in the arms room at weapons cleaning with Epps and Scott. The three of them were chatting animatedly and before entering, Lennox took a few seconds to observe the scene in order to get an idea about Felice mood. He had to tread carefully or his plan would fail. Watching her now, he thought that Felice looked a little more at ease than she had since they'd returned from their latest mission. A smirk was lightning up her features as she listened to her team mates banter while she worked swiftly on her rifle. He entered the room.

"Hey."

She looked up and smiled at him before resuming her work on the weapon.

"Hi."

"Can I talk to you for a sec?"

"Sure." Felice replied glancing up at him for longer now, sensing the slight unease in his voice. "Something wrong?"

"No. Not at all." he reassured her with a smile.

Was this the right moment to tell her about the program? Though she seemed to do better today, he knew that she was still digesting their latest mission and he did not want to add more load to her shoulders than she was already carrying. But he had to tell her rather sooner than later.

"Let's go to my office."

"OK." she replied, shooting a bewildered look in Epps' direction but followed him out of the room.

While walking the familiar corridors, Felice at his side, Lennox' unease grew bigger with every passing second. He still had not decided how to break the news to her without giving away too much thus practically pushing her back into a fighter jet and in harm's way. But he could not lie to her either, so he settled with what would be the truth yet containing only so much information she would need to pass any conversation with Director Mearing and General Morshower.

They reached his office and stepped inside. Closing the door behind himself, he turned just find Felice looking at him, eyes filled with curiosity. He held her gaze for a moment, taking in the sight of the woman in front of him. This beautiful, talented, enchanting woman… No, he could not let her go off to that taskforce. Even though she would make it through the training and succeed in setting up the naval NEST program, he could not bear the thought what would happen when they would be deployed to fight the 'Cons.

"What?"

Her playful teasing voice roused him from his dark thoughts.

"You dragged me to your office to stare at me?"

"Sorry." he shook his head distractedly and sat down on the table's edge.

_Best to come straight to the point_, he told himself and took a deep breath before he began to speak.

"A while ago, Director Mearing and General Morshower approached me with an offer." Though that was not entirely true - it had been more an order than an offer to be exact - Lennox decided to make it sound the least appealing to Felice. "They are thinking about liaising with the Navy and they need personnel for that."

Just as he'd spoken the word 'Navy', Felice eyes had lightened up and he inwardly groaned. It was exactly what he'd expected and he hated himself for what he was about to do.

"It's mostly an administrative job. You know they have their own chain of command and the regulations how much authority we will have are still not sorted out, but since you are our only transfer from the Navy, they suggested you for the job."

Lennox observed her closely as he spoke. A slight frown had appeared on her face as she listened to him.

"What do you say?" he asked tentatively.

"It sounds interesting." she said slowly. "But I am not sure if I like the term 'administrative job'." she concluded with a wary smile. "Do you know more about it yet?"

It took Lennox a lot not to sigh with relief. She'd taken the bait. And even though he felt miserable about double-crossing her, he reminded himself that it was for her own good.

"No, not yet. It's merely an idea. I just thought that you might want to know about it."

"Thanks." she said with a genuine smile. "But I think I will continue here for once. Unless you want to get rid of me." she added with a suggestive grin.

"Not at all." he smirked back, ignoring the nagging feeling of guilt as he closed the distance between them and kissed her.

* * *

><p>Just five weeks after the incident in Korea, NEST received another call.<p>

This time they were sent to Iran. Two news reporters had gone missing. Felice wondered why the US military wanted to rescue the two men with such urgency – this kind of missions usually preceded months and months of negotiations before a single soldier was informed about the case – but to Felice the lives of two civilians were equally valuable to any soldier and she didn't question the orders but hoped that they would be able to rescue them.

After another nighttime airdrop they made their way into the steep mountains near Saravan stealthily; a task that was easier said than done due to the Autobots' size and the lack of cover by trees or other shrubs. But after two hours of walk they arrived in the mountain area where they suspected the men to be held captive.

It was cold and snow had begun to cover the topmost parts of the surrounding mountains, letting them glow eerily in the faint moonlight. The absence of any tree or bush emphasized the rough nature of the terrain they were moving in; reminding Felice forcefully about the only other time her boots had touched the ground in this part of the world. She shuddered at the memory and pushed it quickly aside. This was not the moment to lose her cool. They had to get a job done.

In the pale moonlight, she could make out the shape of Lennox, now signaling them to stop. They came to a halt instantly, waiting for their leader's orders.

"Ratchet, Optimus sweep the area." he said quietly.

There was a few moments silence before the leader of the Autobots spoke.

"They are in a cave up that mountain." he raised a giant finger to point the direction. "No Decepticons near them."

"Maps." the Colonel ordered quietly and Mitch stepped forward.

"Vantage points here and here. The only path up is here."

He trailed a small path with a finger of his gloved hand. Lennox nodded.

"Good. Take Felice with you and set up shop on the ridgeline. Dino and Sides take the other vantage point. The rest come with me."

Felice opened her mouth to protest, but Lennox silenced her with a warning look. She glared at him, well aware of his motives.

They'd barely left Andrews AFB when Lennox had announced the team order for this op. Briefing them on the mission he'd deemed it necessary to place snipers near the cave to secure their exfil route and because Felice was one of the best snipers she'd gotten the job. She had almost wondered aloud why Lennox was not placing _the_ best sniper on the job but her instead, but a warning kick on her shins from Epps had stopped her just in time to prevent her getting into trouble.

She knew that he wanted to avoid another situation like North Korea; her ending up prisoner… or worse. She'd been lucky back then, damn lucky. But she would have been perfectly OK to be on Lennox' team again, yet almost grounding her by placing her out of reach was not what she had in mind.

"Roger that, _Sir_." she muttered and grabbed her duffle bag with her sniper gear, following Mitch into the hills.

They had chosen a spot halfway up the steep way to the ridgeline Lennox had mentioned. It provided a good overview of the valley and their surroundings and shielded their backs in case of an ambush. While they hid under their sniper covers and Felice checked the terrain for threats and Mitch radioed in their position. When he'd received confirmation that Lennox and his men were in position, he picked up his rifle and began peering through the scope as well.

In the distance they could see Lennox and his men entering the cave, while the Autobots stood guard at the entrance. The minutes dragged in, both Felice and Mitch staring into the darkness, eyes glued to the cave entrance. Then, there was she sound of muffled gunfire, then silence again.

"They have no reception in that cave." Mitch spoke out what Felice had already guessed by the lack of status report from Lennox and his men. With mounting tension, she continued watching their surroundings.

Then, some fifteen minutes later, she saw the NEST soldiers emerge from the cave, supporting two battered looking men in their midst.

"_This is Lennox. We have the package. Returning to the rally point. Snipers, hold your position, how copy?_"

"Roger, holding position." Felice replied and breathed a sigh of relief and heard Mitch do the same. The hostages were safe and no casualties this time. It was not yet time to relax, but some of the pressure had lifted already, not only on Felice but also on her fellow sniper who spoke up now. But it was nothing related to their mission.

"So, what's the deal with you and the boss?" Mitch asked quietly, his voice barely more than the light yet icy breeze that blew gently around their faces.

"What do you mean?" Felice replied equally quiet, still peering through her binoculars. Lennox and his men were descending the mountain, flanked by the Autobots.

"You seemed … edgy around each other after our last mission." Mitch pressed on, yet somewhat hesitantly.

"Well, we still haven't caught the White Ghost and we never will if you don't keep your head in the game." she whispered irritably then froze. "Hey, heads up! Contact, twelve o'clock."

Mitch peered through his scope. About a dozen dark shapes were moving over the hilltop, sneaking up at the small group from behind.

"This is sniper 1." Mitch spoke quickly into his earpiece. "Be advised, we have movement behind you. I say again, movement on your six."

"_Roger that._" Felice heard Lennox reply, as she adjusted her sniper rifle and peered through her scope instead of the binoculars. She watched the small group of soldiers reform their position, shielding the civilians in their midst, before she swung towards the hostiles. About ten men in local clothing moved down the hill, rifles in their hands. She observed them for a few more seconds.

"They don't look like villagers to me." Felice whispered.

"No, they move far too trained and organized." Mitch replied.

Then, shots cracked through the air, followed by the bang of an exploding hand grenade that missed Lennox and his team by inches. Felice and Mitchell watched them retreat hastily.

"_Sniper 1 and 2 you are cleared to engage._" Lennox ordered them and they could see him and the others take cover. "_They are enclosing fast._"

"Copy." Mitch replied for both of them, then addressed Felice. "I'll take the right side."

Felice confirmed and focused on her mark. The shots rang through the air in a short succession, each a hit for the enemy could not see where the shooters were positioned hence they could not take cover.

"Sniper 1. All clear." Mitch spoke softly after a few minutes.

"_Roger that. Thanks buddy._"

Mitch looked sideways and exchanged a grim smile with Felice. They watched them descend the mountain and packed up their things when their team was safely with the remaining Autobots. A faint noise to their left told them that Dino and Sides were following them as well.

They reached the foot of the mountain and made their way over to where Lennox was standing. When they were within earshot, the Colonel spoke up.

"Nice shooting you two. I…"

But he didn't get to finish his sentence. A ray of blue light suddenly illuminated the darkness, followed by an earsplitting bang. Out of nowhere five Decepticons materialized in front of Felice, Mitch and the two Autobots blocking their path towards Lennox and his men.

"Take cover!" Mitch hollered, quite unnecessarily because Felice had already ducked behind a small group of rocks and started shooting at the Deceptions immediately. The 'Cons had turned on Lennox and his men and by firing at them she wanted to draw them away so that they could reposition themselves while the Autobots had a clear shot in engaging their enemies.

It worked fairly well because a few moments later, Lennox spoke to them over the radio and told them who he wanted to engage in the fight. Felice and Mitch confirmed, still crouched down behind their rocky cover, returning the enemies' fire whenever possible.

_"__Lennox, move your men, we are taking over."_ they all heard Optimus' voice over their radios. _"Get the hostages into safety."_

_"__Roger that."_ Lennox replied and ordered their retreat.

But it was easier said than done. While the Autobots were fighting the Decepticons relentlessly, rolling all over the place and shattering everything in their path, Lennox and his men had a hard time moving the hostage which were in no fit condition to make a quick getaway. From their hideout, Felice and Mitch could see their trouble.

_"__Snipers, we need a diversion."_

"Copy, Lennox." Felice replied and looked towards Mitch. He had already scanned the situation and come up with a plan.

"You draw them towards you and then we take them into crossfire. By this we might get them away from the others."

"Sounds good to me." she replied as she put a new magazine into her weapon.

"But be careful." Mitch urged her as she was about to move.

Felice turned one last time. "Always am." she replied with a grim smile then vanished into the darkness.

Their plan worked fairly well at first. Once Felice had started to fire at the two Decepticons closest to Lennox and his men, they turned and walked towards her, but Mitch took them down with precise shots. Taking out the Decepticons' eyes first made them an easy target for the kill shots directly into their core. One after the other went down.

Meanwhile, the Autobots fought the three remaining Decepticons. They managed to kill two similar looking 'Cons in the shape of tigers after another few minutes, leaving the last one, a giant transformed tank, to Optimus.

"Leave him to me." the Autobots' leader had ordered his friends. "Get Lennox and his team out of harm's way."

While the hostages were ushered into the vehicles, followed by most of Lennox' men, the Colonel and Ray Jones kept looking for Mitch and Felice. They must have heard the order but neither could see them through all the dust and smoke that was thrown into the air by the giant alien battle in front of them.

"There comes Mitch!" Jones yelled over the deafening noise and pointed towards a figure that was running in their direction. Panting, their team mate skidded to a halt next to them, the muzzle of his rifle slightly smoking in the cold from the massive amount of shooting, his face smudged with sweat and dirt.

"Where is Felice?" Lennox demanded at once.

Mitch looked around then frowned.

"She was right behind me… wait. There she is!" he gestured towards Optimus and his opponent. Trapped behind a rock in the middle of the fight was Felice, unable to get out from behind her cover without risking to be crushed by the two giants fighting each other. Lennox cursed.

"We need to get to her." he said. He pushed the talk- button on his radio. "Felice, stay where you are. We are going to help you." he said and was about to move, when Jones got hold of his arm.

"Wait." he jerked his head in Felice' direction and Lennox saw what he meant.

The young woman had raised her weapon and was firing precise shots into the Decepticons' core. He did not die, but it didn't seem to worry Felice for in that moment, Lennox heard her voice over his earpiece.

"_No worries, boss. I got it_." she replied, sounding a little out of breath. "_Get the hostages into safety_."

There were a few more cracks of gunfire, their amplified over the radio. The Decepticon staggered around more uncontrollably than ever before, twice almost stepping on the place where Felice was hiding, missing her only by inches. There was a yell of shock by Felice about the near miss and that, more than anything else, made Lennox snap.

"The hell I am." he muttered and without another word he took off into the direction of the fight.

Still trapped behind the rock, Felice had trouble avoiding to be killed by either Optimus or his opponent, the latter staggering a lot now, and she doubted that she would need less than half a dozen shots to finish him off once and for all. Cursing that she had to engage this particularly though 'Con who wouldn't die as easily as Mitch's targets, she reloaded her weapon. But this was not the right time to complain yet when glancing up again and she felt her heart almost come to a standstill.

Running towards the fight, alone and without cover, was none other than William Lennox. Felice swore. He and his stupid protective instincts! What the hell was he thinking? Engaging in the fight in such a reckless lunatic way!

He was close now and his voice carried over to her as he shouted at the 'Con.

"Hey, big boy! Over here!" Lennox shouted and fired a few shots at the Decepticon. He hit the target but the shots didn't do much damage for he wasn't using the special ammo Felice and Mitch used in their sniper rifles. Nevertheless, he achieved his goal.

At once, the robot turned and to Felice' horror advanced now on Lennox instead of her. A burst of gunfire thudded into the ground right in front of him, throwing up shards and plumes of dust. Felice gasped in shock. But the diversion had given her the chance to leave her hideout. Without taking her eyes of the scene she crouched out of the danger zone and grabbed her rifle, bringing it up and aimed at the torso of the Decepticon.

There was a deafening sound as the projectile left the muzzle followed by and earsplitting bang when it hit its mark. It staggered, but it was still not dead.

_Why can't you just die_, Felice thought desperately as she watched the 'Con lifting its gun, aiming for the spot where Lennox must stand – Felice could no longer see him through all the dust. But just then, Optimus had emerged from thin air, raising his sword. The blade slid deeply into its torso and sliced the Decepticon in half. Falling to the ground motionless the 'Con was dead; at last.

It took Felice a few moments before she was able to move. Slowly, she lowered her rifle and turned to look for her friend. Lennox was coming to his feet, filthy but unharmed; a half-smile on his face as he enclosed her.

"Well, that was fun…" he smirked, but his smile faltered when he saw the look on Felice' face. Her eyes were blazing with anger and he was absolutely positive that she would yell at him any second, but he was proven otherwise.

"And you tell me not to take any stupid risks." she said so quietly he had to strain his ears to hear her yet her voice was filled with such venom it pierced through him like ice. And with one last furious glance at him, she turned and marched away towards the rest of the team, leaving him standing there with Optimus and the dead Decepticon.


	5. Chapter 5

"No, Epps. This is unacceptable!" Felice exclaimed as they walked out of the hangar towards their cars that evening.

She had avoided talking to Lennox for the rest of the mission and their entire journey home, fearing that she would no longer be able to control her anger if he spoke to her now. She could not believe that he had again acted like a lunatic when luring the 'Con away from her. A small part of her almost wished that he had taken a bullet, just to get a taste of what it meant if you did not shut out your emotions but decide to be the hero of the day.

This was not the man she'd got to know back in Chicago or in Qatar, she had thought while watching him exiting the plane back at Andrews AFB; courageous and selfless, but yet always prepared and rational in his decisions. Having seen him in situations like this before and what Epps had told her from their time before joining NEST, she'd doubted that a man like Lennox would ever allow himself to be led by emotions when on a battlefield but she'd been proven wrong once again. He was not able to separate work and private life, he cared too much about her wellbeing to think about his safety and ultimately about the safety of his team.

"Don't you think he does it for good reasons?" Epps expressed his thoughts cautiously. Contrary to Felice, he knew pretty well why Lennox was keeping an extra eye on her. But he'd sworn his friend not to tell anybody about his motives. And he would not break that promise, yet his resolve was tested once again.

"Good reasons?! For acting like a lunatic?!"

"He cares about you, silly." Epps replied with an exasperated smirk at her words.

"Well, and I appreciate that as long as his care doesn't extend to the field. I can take care of myself." she retorted tersely.

She opened the back door of her car and threw her bag inside before turning to Epps once more. Her cheeks were still flushed from her outburst earlier, yet when she spoke again her voice was calm and deadly serious.

"This has to stop or people do get hurt." she said quietly; voicing her doubts about joining Lennox and his team aloud for the first time since she'd joined NEST. And to her astonishment yet relief, the look in Epps' eyes confirmed her fears.

* * *

><p>After a very short night and followed by an endless morning of training which Lennox did not attend, Felice finally spotted him around lunchtime walking back to his office at the far end of the hangar. Dropping off her gear in the locker room, she made to follow him, knocking on his door and entering without really waiting for him to answer.<p>

* * *

><p>By the knock, William Lennox knew that he was in trouble. It was not the tentative 'May I come in?' sound, but more like an 'Open the door or I bust it down!' hammering. And he had a fairly good guess who was standing on the other side.<p>

He stepped away from bulletin board next to the door to avoid being hit by the latter and positioned himself in front of his desk, mentally readying himself for what was about to happen.

"Come."

The words had barely left his mouth when Felice entered the room, eyes blazing with anger. Arms crossed in front of her chest, she planted herself in front of him, fixing him with a steely glare.

"What's gotten into you?" she asked; her voice dangerously soft. "Why do you keep doing that?"

"Keep doing what?"

"Taking stupid risks, for Christ's sake! I was completely fine, I had it all under control and you've got no better idea than engage with him alone?"

"I thought you needed my help." he began to defend himself. "It is my duty as team leader to have my men's back."

"No, it is your duty to trust your team mates' judgment!" she cut off his speech. "But it seems that you are somehow blinded every time I get into a sticky situation."

Lennox sighed. He approached her, gently touching her arm.

"Felice. You know I care about you…" he began, searching for the right words. The expression on her face softened a bit.

"And I care about you, Will. But I trust your judgment and I have not once questioned your orders or actions since I joined your team. All I ask for is that you do the same for me." her voice was gentle, but her stare was relentless.

"I can't…" he squeezed out.

Felice sighed. It was not the first time they were having this kind of conversation, but enough was enough. Yesterday, Lennox almost got himself killed while she was perfectly fine, relatively speaking, fighting the 'Con. She knew there was some kind of force making him act the way he did. She'd seen it from the very beginning. He'd been worried about her wellbeing ever since they'd met in Chicago. It was the very reason he'd moved heaven and earth to get her on his team. He wanted to have her close by. She could not tell why he was acting that protective, but they'd reached a point where she was done accepting that he was taking more and more unnecessary risks. It was time for him to spill the guts.

"Then tell me, goddamn it!" she exclaimed.

"I can't…" Lennox repeated; pain clearly visible in his eyes.

Felice snorted scornfully. She was not giving in this time. Not only that he was questioning her decisions, but he was doing it in front of the whole team. And he should have known that she wouldn't take that too well.

"I can't do this anymore." she said, ruffling through her hair while walking over to the window of his office. She watched Ratchet explaining something to Jones, the man laughing at something the Autobot had told him. There would be another mission, nobody knew when but she dreaded what might happen when Lennox kept up his behavior.

She needed a break from this. Somehow, her thoughts wandered to the conversation about the naval program and an idea bubbled up in her mind. Maybe she should take the job; to pour some oil on the troubled waters.

_But also to teach Lennox a lesson_, said a nasty little voice in her head.

She was about to turn back to him when somebody knocked on the door. Felice exchanged a puzzled look with Lennox.

"Come." the Colonel said and to his astonishment Charlotte Mearing walked in followed by General Morshower and Felice' former CO Admiral Reigart.

Both, Felice and Lennox snapped to attention.

"At ease." General Morshower said as he returned their salute.

"Director Mearing, General Morshower, Admiral Reigart, what an unexpected pleasure." Lennox had gone slightly pale, but his voice was she same as ever as he shook hands with each person and indicated them to take a seat. But the Admiral refused with a polite gesture and turned to Felice.

"Ah, Commander Manning. It's good to have you here. How are you doing?" Admiral Reigart asked her, while shaking her hand.

"Good, Sir. Thank you."

She was surprised yet pleased to see her former CO. It was due to him that she had made such a career in the Navy and now in the Air Force. Returning his smile politely, she now waited for him to continue. She was not sure what this was all about. But their guest came to the point right away.

"I assume you know about the new program we intend to set up for the Navy?"

"Yes, Sir." Felice replied curtly. Lennox had told her a while ago, but since the job would be mostly administrative, she'd pushed it from her mind. Now, she wondered why Reigart considered it important for her.

"Colonel Lennox has requested quite a long amount of time to train you. But we think you are now ready to take over the job we initially had in mind for you."

"Pardon me, Ma'am?" Felice turned to look at Director Mearing who now continued speaking.

"Don't you know? It was the deal from the very beginning. We granted Colonel Lennox' request to transfer you to his unit under one condition. After he'd trained you sufficiently you would return to the Navy to build up a taskforce specialized in air-to-air engagement with potential alien threats. The Air Force has its pilots but we figured since the Navy with its carriers is stationed around the world we would be more flexible when deploying such squadrons. And we want you to train them."

It took Felice a few moments to process the news. Vividly, she remembered the day she'd found out about the possible transfer back to the Navy. But Lennox had never, not once, bothered to mention that she would be training fighter pilots. She'd always assumed to be some liaison for the NEST; paperwork or strategic planning. But she'd been completely wrong with her guess. Not only that Lennox has kept the news from her for a long time, he basically had prevented her from doing the thing she loved most: flying.

He had arranged everything according to his plans. He had gotten her transferred to his team and she still remembered the words he had used while persuading Reigart: _You would be a real enrichment to my team._

Now, she knew he'd been lying. He'd done it to keep an eye on her for reasons he still refused telling her. It was ungrateful to think like that when he'd only had her best interests in mind, but he hadn't been honest with her. She'd been just a player in this game. And Lennox had known about it from the very beginning.

She glanced to him. His face was impassive as always when speaking to his superiors, but his eyes were filled with remorse.

"Ma'am, in my opinion Commander Manning is more than capable to fulfil this task, but shouldn't it be her decision whether to take the job or not?" he said in a weak attempt to assuage Felice.

_Doesn't help you anymore, buddy_, she thought angrily as she held his gaze. The vague yet vicious thoughts about taking the job just to teach Lennox a lesson had now become something very real.

"Of course." General Morshower nodded good-naturedly as he turned to Felice.

Four pairs of eyes were fixed on her as she took a deep breath; seemingly while she was thinking about the unexpected offer, but in reality she was boiling with anger. This was the last time he had interfered with her work. She would make sure of it, once and for all.

"I'd be happy to take the job, General. But only if Colonel Lennox approves of it." she silently smiled while speaking. _Two can play that game, Mister._

"Well, ask him!" Admiral Reigart laughed, delighted that Felice was interested in the job but completely unaware of the silent war being fought right under his eyes. Slowly, Felice turned to Lennox, her eyes locked with his as she stood to attention.

"Colonel Lennox, I am asking for your permission to take the job General Morshower and Admiral Reigart kindly offered me, _Sir_."

_Gotcha_, she thought grimly as she waited for his reply. She had driven him into a corner. He had no other option but to grant her request in front of their superiors. It was not quite fair of her, to be honest, but he hadn't stuck to the rules either. If he hadn't acted about her the way he had, she wouldn't be forced to play that card.

"Permission granted, Commander." Lennox forced out, his face not giving him away but his eyes blazing with anger.

"Thank you, Sir." Felice replied crisply.

"Well, that seals it then." Admiral Reigart said happily and clapped his hands. "Commander Manning, I expect you to report at NAS Oceana ASAP for the evaluation of your flight status. In the meantime, Colonel Lennox and I will put together a list of skills required by the pilots out of which you will develop a training plan."

He looked from one to the other. Felice and Lennox nodded.

"Excellent." he beamed as he patted Felice on the shoulder. "Welcome back to the Navy."

* * *

><p>The day went on without Felice or Lennox speaking a single word to each other. After General Morshower had dismissed her, she'd gone straight back to work while Lennox had to sort out the terms of Felice' transfer with his superiors. Epps, however, observed the changed behavior of Felice when she returned to the group.<p>

During training she'd been much more aggressive. The others didn't seem to notice, but to Epps it was evident that something was bothering her. When they finished their day's work, they walked back to the locker rooms. Felice was just to enter the ladies locker room, when Epps stopped her to ask whether she was doing OK. But her response was rather clipped.

"It's been just one hell of a day." she replied while she got rid of her gear and vanished through the doorframe.

The Tech. Sergeant looked after her and just wondered what this was all about, when Lennox approached him.

"'she alone in there?" he asked harshly.

Epps turned to his friend.

"Yeah, but she's in a bad mood. You know what this is all about?"

"You bet." Lennox muttered as he reached for the door handle.

"Trouble in paradise, huh?" Epps smirked, but his smile faded immediately as he saw the look on Lennox' face.

"You better watch your mouth." the Colonel growled and opened the door. He approached the next corner cautiously, but Felice had already heard him coming.

"What do you want?"

"May I?" he asked tentatively.

"I'm decent." she called from the rear end of the room and a few moments later she stood in front of him.

William Lennox had always thought to know Felice quite well, but he'd never seen her that angry and that disappointed that the same time. His heart dropped. It had never been his intention to hurt her feelings. But the second Morshower had told him about the naval NEST program, Felice would most likely sign her own death warrant when taking the job. He'd been in the game long enough to know the odds of aviators to survive a Decepticon attack were not really high and he could not let that happen to her. It was the very reason he'd sold her away from her squadron but his plan to persuade Morshower that she had to stay in his team had not proven to be very successful.

She'd accepted this job to score him off, he'd seen it in her eyes, but he sincerely hoped that she would change her mind. That was the moment when he became aware of the duffle bag in her hands. It was not the one she usually carried, but a larger one. His heart dropped. She had been cleaning out her locker already.

"Please, think this over."

"I'm well aware of what I am doing. Contrary to you, Mister." she snapped.

"I had no choice."

"Yes, you had! You could've told me! You _should_ have told me from the very beginning! But no, Lennox always knows best so he makes the decisions for everybody else."

She stepped closer to him, holding his gaze defiantly.

"I appreciate your concerns about my safety, but I am more than capable of taking care of myself."

"I know, but…" Lennox started, but Felice did not listen.

"When I took the job at NEST we agreed that it was not about your feelings for me, but you lied. You've crossed the line one too many times and now you deal with the consequences."

She was about to walk past him, but he stopped her by taking hold of her arm.

"It's politics! This has nothing to do with my feelings for you!" Lennox exclaimed, but Felice cast off his hand.

"Yes, it has." she replied sadly. "It had been about your feelings from the very beginning. You knew this was eventually going to happen the second you showed up at the Vinson."

A look into his eyes proved her right.

"Felice, look I am truly sorry…" he started but she cut off his speech.

"No, you're not." she replied, hoping that he would not hear the tremble within her voice. "I'm leaving for Oceana in two days. And there's nothing you can do about."

And without further comment she was gone.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Thank you so much for your reviews, favs and follows! You guys are awsome!**

* * *

><p>For one last time she checked the fit of her uniform with a scrutinizing look, before she closed her locker. Then she went to the nearby mirror and put on her badges; a gold star and three stripes, two broad ones and a slight one in the middle, along with the golden wings. She could not withhold a small smile.<p>

_This is where I belong,_ she thought as she ran her fingers over the golden metal affectionately. A knock on the door roused her from her thoughts.

"Come in."

A young female Ensign stepped in and saluted.

"Commander Manning, the Captain has requested your presence in his office, Ma'am."

"Thank you, Ensign. I'll be there in a minute." she replied and closed her locker.

It was her first day back at NAS Oceana before she would start with the reevaluation of her flight status and she had to report for duty to the chief of base officially, hence the formal clothing. While she walked the familiar corridors towards the CO's office, she looked out of the windows pointing towards the airstrip. Seeing the variety of planes and thinking about the prospect of flying them very soon, she smiled again, but as her eyes caught sight of the Energon detector in front of one of the maintenance hangars, the red light blinking constantly, it faltered. Quickly, Felice looked away, trying to repress the upcoming memories.

Thirteen months she had been with NEST and it had been quite an abrupt end of her assignment at Lennox' team. She could not quite decide how to feel of the sudden parting with her former unit. She was still too angry with Lennox and his betrayal, for a lack of better words, to process what she'd given up. The only thought consuming her mind was that he'd kept her from flying and when Admiral Reigart had offered her the post, she taken it more than gladly.

Taking in a deep breath, Felice pushed the thoughts from her head as she reached the door leading to the CO's office. She straightened her uniform one last time before she knocked. After a few moments, she heard a male voice giving her permission to enter.

"Lieutenant Commander Manning reporting for duty, Sir." she said with a salute, standing to attention in front of the CO of base, and to her surprise Admiral Reigart. The elder man smiled as he rounded his desk.

"At ease, Commander. Welcome back." he said with a warm smile as they shook hands.

"Thank you, Sir."

"Have a seat."

He indicated towards a round table where the three of them sat down.

"I must say, I am very glad to have you on board for this rather special task, Commander." Reigart spoke now.

Felice smiled politely and waited for him to continue.

"I see it as a formality for you to get back your flight status and then you can start working on your actual task. You will be provided with all the resources necessary to make this thing work. Colonel Lennox and I have already worked out a preliminary list of things the future pilots of naval NEST program should be capable of, but feel free to add things as you see fit. You remember Commander John Cole, I guess?"

"Yes, Sir. He was my training officer during flight school." Felice responded, curious why Reigart had brought him up so unexpectedly.

"He will assess your flight status in the following weeks. And he will also be assisting you on your taskforce. I think he will be a valuable asset in sorting out the main goals for our new fighter pilots to learn as well as to train them."

"Thank you, Sir. He will be a great help."

Reigart nodded.

"Oh, and I have another surprise for you." he continued. Felice shot him a curious look. What could he have other than her former training officer to help and assist on her taskforce? But before she could make any guesses, Reigart came straight to the point.

"I have had Lieutenant Chris Edwards transferred to your taskforce for I take that you have flown with him as a RIO for quite a long time. I thought it might be easier to start with familiar people rather than pick a completely new team."

"That's really kind of you, Sir." Felice said with a sincere smile. While being with NEST, Chris had been one of the people she'd missed the most. He had not only been her RIO but a close friend as well.

"Your training will start tomorrow at 0700. Till then you might want to catch up with some friends on base." he ended and rose. Felice followed suit.

"Thank you, Sir." she said and as he nodded off her parting salute, she left the room to go and find Chris and the others.

* * *

><p>Pushing open the door of his apartment, Lennox let his duffle bag drop in the small hallway leading towards his living room and tossed his car keys in the bowl standing on top of the table next to the door. It was now the only thing standing on the piece of furniture. The photo of him and Felice with their NEST team after her graduation had vanished along with another few personal items she'd left at his place. He didn't want to be reminded of her absence by those things. He felt it each and every day at work since her departure five weeks ago.<p>

Not bothering to look at the now empty space next to the key-bowl, he flicked on the TV and walked into the bathroom, got rid of his clothes and stepped into the shower. He felt the hot water run down his sore body easing his muscles … but not his guilty conscience.

It was his fault. He had pushed Felice back into the cockpit by not being honest with her from the beginning. Why on earth had he thought that he would get away with his plan? He felt terrible by the mere thought of Felice being in a fighter jet; testing maneuvers, excited to fight the 'Cons with a weapon that she thought was more effective than just engaging them on the ground. Why couldn't she see the dangers that lay in her way?

Frustrated, he turned off the water and toweled himself. He was barely dressed again, when the doorbell rang. He went to answer it.

"Red Socks vs. White Socks!" Epps exclaimed enthusiastically. "Man, this is going to be the game of the year!" He pushed pack of beers in Lennox' arms and headed straight for the living room.

"He didn't shut up about it all day." Jones rolled his eyes at Lennox as he entered the hallway, following his friend into the living room.

"Yeah, he's almost as crazy about this as Felice." Scott added, carrying two large buckets of chicken wings.

"Tell me about that." Lennox mumbled as he closed the door behind his team mates, a painful sting in his chest as his thoughts wandered to Felice once more. She was probably watching the game with her friends at base, cheering and happy to be with them while he, Lennox, had rather preferred a quiet evening by himself.

_"__Stop mourning. She's not dead, she's just deployed elsewhere_." Epps had scolded him a few days earlier as Lennox had attempted to refuse watching the baseball game together. He had started to explain his concerns to Epps then for what felt the hundredths time, but his friend just waved them away with an exasperated sigh.

_"__Don't you worry about her?"_ Lennox had asked him.

_"__Of course I do. But she's a big girl, Lennox. She can handle it." _Epps had dismissed his concerns with a cheer-up smile.

The Colonel had then given up explaining his friend why he was worrying sick every day and night since Felice had parted for Oceana.

Sitting down next to his friends on the couch now, he tried to blank out the thoughts about the young woman and focused on the game and the conversation, playing along as nothing had ever happened and the transfer of their one and only Navy officer was nothing to worry about. But though he might fool Scott and Jones, he could not play the third.

Watching his friend during the game, Epps could not help but worry about Lennox. He'd seen this kind of behavior once before and he doubted that his friend would overcome his heartache that easily. There was only one person that would be able to put an end to it and he made a mental note to ask for her for help the next time they spoke to each other.

* * *

><p>Over the next weeks, Felice was so occupied with her work, she had no time to think about her issues with Lennox and frankly she was quite glad about it.<p>

The reunion with her RIO Chris Edwards and her fellow pilots had muffled her conflicted emotions about the Colonel and when she'd taken off in an F-18 the next day for the first time in almost a year, they'd been driven from her mind completely. It was as though flying had some therapeutic effect on her for she felt nothing but joy while she zoomed around the blazing blue sky, determined to catch up on her performance before she'd joined NEST.

While doing work-ups by day, most of her evenings were filled with long discussions about the traits a naval NEST fighter pilot should have and which was the best strategy to train them for their future job.

As expected there was a lot of paperwork and regulatory issues which had do be discussed as well. Though the fighter pilots would be staying with the Navy, they were under NEST command and their CO for NEST deployments would be Colonel Lennox. They all had to report to their respective COs at their squadrons as well where they would be serving until needed in due course.

Two weeks into her new job, they had started to sort through the files of possible candidates for the naval NEST program, discussing the advantages and disadvantages whether to train experienced pilots or rookies just out of flight school. It was a tough decision to make, but in the end they'd settled for the rookies because none except Felice and Chris had any experience fighting the Decepticons anyway. They did a few test flights to see if the traits Lennox and his superiors had in mind for the new task force would be achievable.

Thrilled about the new program Chris and John "Bricks" Cole had come up with some really good ideas for training, but Felice knew that even the best training were was no comparison to what would await them when encountering a real threat. So she called Optimus and asked for his advice. And to her astonishment and causing quite some chaos and alarm, a single F-16 Fighting Falcon had landed on base a few days later, transforming and introducing itself as the Autobot Skydive.

"Optimus sent me to help you out, Commander." Skydive had told her with a deep rumbling voice she had no trouble associating with the roaring of a jet engine. "And assist you in any way I can."

She'd then turned to Bricks and Chris exchanging broad grins with them as she expressed her gratitude for his help. Her doubts about the program and their odds to stand a chance in a real Decepticon attack had shrunken to a minimum as she did her first few training sorties with Skydive for he turned out to be an excellent teacher.

"Only by studying the past can we win the present." he had told her one evening as they walked back into the hangar, discussing the fact that the previous air-to-air engagements with the Deceptions had been such a disaster, and she had nodded her genuine agreement to that statement.

But even though she loved being back among her fellow fighter pilots and was more than glad to have the help of such a skilled and versatile Autobot like Skydive, she could not help but miss her team mates and often thought about them in the few quiet moments of downtime she had.

One Sunday evening when she finally had the muse and time, she decided to call Epps. Her friend picked up the phone on the second ringing.

"Hey, it's me. Felice." she said, leaning back in the armchair that was placed in the spartan apartment close to base she currently called her home.

_"__Felice! Jeez, I thought you'd forgotten me. How are you?"_

She smiled at the enthusiastic greeting of the Tech. Sergeant and pictured him walking around his flat as they spoke.

"I'm great." she said genuinely. "Everybody is so motivated and we've come up with some really good ideas. Skydive is a real help, quite the scientist sometimes but always very attentive when we're airborne."

_"__It must be strange to fight against something that can think of its own."_

"Well, you do it all the time don't you?" Felice laughed, though she understood what he meant.

It made quite a difference whether you were engaging in ACM with a normal adversary, being able to calculate its moves based on the aircrafts physical and mechanical capabilities or if you were fighting a machine that could act and think for itself, defying the laws of nature with ease.

_ "__You know what I mean…" _Epps scolded her teasingly as he heard her still laughing.

"How are you holding up?" she asked, genuinely interested to hear about his life since they'd not spoken to each other for a long time. But as she heard the sigh at the other end of the line, her excitement faded, only to be replaced by a knot in her stomach. "Is everything alright, Epps? Are you OK?"

_"__I am fine, don't worry about me."_ the Tech. Sergeant replied at once.

"What is it then?"

_"__It's Lennox."_

By the sound of his name and more so by the tone of her friend's voice, Felice felt her blood run cold.

"Is he alright? I mean…"

_"__He's fine."_ Epps calmed her. _"Physically, I mean. Mentally, I am not so sure."_

There was a pause in which Felice took a deep steadying breath. For one horrible moment she'd expected the worst and it took her quite by surprise to see how much she still cared about the Colonel.

"What happened?" she asked when she'd finally regained her composure. "Is it because of the White Ghost? Have you caught him yet?"

_"__No, we're still making no progress. There haven't been any more attacks since the last one, but…"_ he sighed again and Felice pictured him running his hand over his face as he spoke. _"He's not taking your absence very well. Since you've left he's changed. Felice, you should see him during training! He's always demanded high standards of the team, but the way he pushes us is just insane. Most of the guys think it is because we still haven't caught the White Ghost, but I think it is because of what happened between the two of you."_

There was another moment's silence in which the news sank in. She'd not expected Lennox to carry out his frustration on the back of those serving under him and she was quite angry about it.

"Have you talked to him?" she asked.

_"__Not yet."_

"Well, you better do before he does harm to himself or anybody else." she stated.

_"__I thought that maybe you…"_ Epps began carefully, but Felice cut him off.

"No!" she exclaimed more fiercely than she'd intended to. "I am not going to talk to him unless it's something work-related."

_"__But this is work-related!"_ intervened Epps.

"No, this is about his inability to separate work and private issues." she said, standing up and pacing the length of the room.

_"__Felice…"_ Epps tried once more, but she was done.

"I have to go, Epps. I call you when I can. Goodbye."

And she'd hung up before he could even answer. She was too upset about what she'd just heard and too agitated to talk any longer about the person she thought she knew quite well. She could not believe that he was taking out his anger on the team!

Still fuming with anger, she walked over to the window, gazing into the starless night; but a small part of her worried about Lennox just as much as she did about her team.

* * *

><p>Lennox almost walked into Epps who was blocking his way out of the locker room, arms crossed in front of his chest. Roused from his thoughts the Colonel looked up at his friend, eyebrows raised.<p>

"We need to talk."

"Epps, it's almost 10:00 PM. Let's call it a night." he groaned while hoisting his duffle bag over his shoulder. He was tired, hungry not to mention exhausted from yet another week of work which had not satisfied him the slightest. They were nowhere near catching the White Ghost and since Felice departure the team's morale as at a new record low. It had surprised him what a great effect she'd had on the team and not realized it until she'd gone.

"No. This is urgent."

Lennox sighed, his leadership instincts awaking. If some of his team had a problem, he'd promised to hear him or her out, no matter when or what. He turned to face his friend, though he could not keep a hint of exasperation from his voice.

"What is it that you want to talk about?"

"Felice." Epps merely said, watching the Colonel's expression darken instantly.

"That's none of your business." Lennox snapped and was about to walk past him but the Tech. Sergeant stood his ground.

"It is my business and you will hear me out." Epps replied with a seriousness that surprised his friend that much that he halted in his movement. "I want you to sort out your issues with Felice."

"I have no issues with…" Lennox started but Epps cut through is speech.

"Oh, really? Then I am just watching the usual Lennox pushing his team so hard that half of them are down with training injuries? Or yelling at anybody who doesn't meet your requirements?"

"They have been lazy..."

"Bullshit! They bring their A-game each and every day. But you vent your frustration about her leaving on them and you know that damn well, Lennox!"

But before Epps could say anything else to reason with his friend, Lennox had grabbed him by the lapel, shoving him hard against the door frame. The two men stared at each other, Epps not fighting against Lennox' iron grip.

"Mind you own fucking business, Epps." the Colonel growled, letting go of him as suddenly as he'd grabbed him. He then picked up his duffle bag, leaving the Tech. Sergeant standing in the empty locker room and vanished into the dark corridor.

He'd not felt that miserable in ages. With a groan, Lennox sat down on his couch, running his hands over his face. Epps was right. He was venting his anger on the team, though he'd tried his hardest to deny it. And nobody, least of all the men serving under him, was responsible of the mess he alone had caused.

He had to sort out his issues with Felice or something bad would happen, either on his end or on hers. He was scheduled to go to Oceana next week and he knew her well enough to see that she would act as stubbornly as she had taking the job, when disagreeing with him over certain things in the naval NEST program.

Exhausted, sank back into the pillows, closing his eyes as if it would help to block out reality, just for a few moments. He had to consider his options very carefully before acting because he knew that there would be no second chance this time.


	7. Chapter 7

_Ten weeks into the naval NEST program at NAS Oceana…_

"It was _that_ close!" Felice exclaimed emphasizing her point measuring the distance with her thumb and forefinger.

The men to her left and right, Commander John "Bricks" Cole and Lieutenant Chris "Longhorn" Edwards, smirked as they exchanged knowing looks. While Bricks took Felice' ranting just for the anger of failed gun-kill, Chris as her RIO knew that this was the relentless ambition of a female fighter pilot to prove herself in an environment dominated by men. For days and days they were going through various maneuvers and though Bricks had assured Felice that she had caught up on her performance before leaving for NEST very fast, she still hadn't managed to beat him in training.

"Yeah, but you shouldn't have pushed it so hard. You went in here," he gestured with his hands, showing her the positions of their planes, "while you would've had a better line of sight here."

"Right, but…" Felice stopped dead in her tracks as she recognized the man standing in front of the hangar. First, his frame had been vaguely familiar to Felice but she had been still too occupied to argue with Bricks to take any further notice of him. He had been talking to another officer and his face hadn't been visible, but when the officer had pointed in their direction he'd turned and Felice' heart had stopped.

"Colonel Lennox, what an honor. What brings you here?" Bricks smiled as they reached their guest, he and Chris shaking hand with Lennox.

"I have some things to discuss with Commander Manning and I figured it would be easier to do this in person." Lennox replied as his gaze wandered to Felice. "May I speak to you for a second, Ma'am?"

Even though Felice was still angry with Lennox, she could not help herself thinking that he had not slipped once and showed her impeccable manners on the rare occasions since their breakup when it came to speaking with her in front of their colleagues or superiors – her official relief from NEST-field-duty at the headquarters in DC and a two video conference chats with Bricks and some other high ranking officials from NAS Oceana present in the same room with her.

Before she could stop herself, she'd shot a questioning glance in Chris' direction. They'd been very close ever since they'd been teamed up in flight school, so naturally Felice had told him everything that had happened ever since she'd joined NEST. The blond man reciprocated her look with an almost imperceptible shrug. He seemed as clueless about the visit as she was and Felice could not think of any excuse than might safe her from this. But she decided to buy herself a little more time.

"Of course, just give me a second to get rid of these." she replied pointing to her helmet and other gear.

"After you." he nodded and followed her, Chris and Bricks to the room where the G-suits, parachutes and helmets were stored. Quickly, Felice got rid of her stuff and handed it to the solider ranked a Petty officer in charge of the gear.

"Not a good flight, huh Commander?" he asked as he caught the grim look on her face. Contrary to his belief, it was not because of the failed gun-kill, but more of Lennox' unexpected appearance at base. But she decided that the solider didn't need to know about her personal issues.

"Failed to kill Bricks." she rolled her eyes.

The Petty officer laughed.

"That explains a lot."

She signed the sheet of paper he handed her as she returned his conspiratorially smile.

"Thank you, Ma'am."

She nodded and turned to Bricks.

"When do you need me in the Ready Room?"

"Boomer and Argo are not due until fifteen minutes. But take your time." he replied with a friendly nod in Lennox' direction.

Felice sighed inwardly. She'd rather preferred a specific time to get rid of him. She hadn't spoken to Lennox alone since she'd left NEST headquarters the day Reigart and Morshower had offered her the job. Her anger and disappointment about his betrayal - for a lack of better words - was still fresh and she wasn't sure if she was ready to face him yet.

They walked the short distance to one of the conference rooms in silence. While their steps echoed through the empty hallways, Felice discomfort grew bigger and bigger. She was not prepared for this confrontation. Why hadn't Epps called and warned her that he would show up here? What did he want?

It could certainly not be about the program. He could've just called or passed it on to her superiors. She was still doing some flight routine and would not start training the recruits until next week when she'd hopefully passed her carrier qualifications.

_So this is personal, _she thought grudgingly as they reached the room. She opened the door to let Lennox pass. He entered and she stepped inside as well, closing the door behind her. Then she turned to face him, waiting impatiently for him to say something. But Lennox remained silent, taking in her sight for a few moments.

It was the first time since he'd seen her since she'd left and though not sure what exactly he'd expected, he was slightly hurt by what he'd encountered. When he'd watched her exiting her aircraft, Bricks and Chris at either sides of her, completely wrapped up in their discussion about flying, she'd been so excited and he wondered whether he'd ever seen her like this when with his team. His conversation with Epps came to his mind. _She's a big girl, she can handle it. _Yet when he looked into her eyes now, he could see the merest flicker of sadness in them as she held his gaze.

"How are you doing?" he asked tentatively.

Felice searched for the meaning in his words. Taking in his sight for the first time in what felt years, she now realized how tired he looked. Dark shadows were visible under his eyes and even though he was sitting on the table's edge he seemed somewhat tense. It was not the man she'd left weeks ago, radiating energy like nobody else she'd ever known. And Felice could not help but worry about him.

"I'm fine." she replied quietly as she walked over to the window and observed two F-18 take off into the blazing blue sky. Lennox followed her gaze.

"I've seen you flying earlier."

Felice whirled around.

"You have?" She was too astonished to keep up her reserved attitude.

Lennox smiled.

"Pretty impressive. Wouldn't believe it was you until the radio control officer told me, that I was watching the only chick on base flying. His words, not mine!" he raised in defense as Felice frowned. But seeing his non-threatening gesture, she smiled slightly.

"You know the deal with nicknames. They tend to stick around for quite some time." she shrugged, but turned serious again. She was not going to let Lennox snow her. "So, why are you here?"

Lennox sighed inwardly at the sudden change of tone. He'd always known that this talk wouldn't be easy, but he had postponed it the longest time.

"I am here to talk about the program."

"You could've just called." she shot back instantly.

"No, I couldn't and you just showed the very reason why."

Felice frowned.

"We can't start working on the program when we are constantly arguing. Every time I would suggest something you don't like, you would tear it into pieces just to score me off even though it might be not a bad idea. Am I right or am I not right?"

"So, you're here to give me a lecture about my faults?" she snapped. "Well, save your breath then. I…"

"I am not." Lennox cut her off. "I am here to make peace with you."

The soft tone in his voice made her halt. Somewhat dumbfounded, Felice looked into his eyes just to find them filled with sincerity.

"We both have dangerous jobs, Felice. And I am not willing to put you at more risk just because we are angry with each other. I learned my lesson and I will not interfere with your work here or at NEST ever again. But I am asking for your indulgence. That if we don't agree over a specific thing, you don't just push it through just because you seek revenge on me. Don't get me wrong." he raised his hand as she was about to say something. "You've every right to be mad at me and I am fine with it – as long as it doesn't affect our work."

Felice took a few moments to let his speech sink in. She was quite surprised about what she'd just heard. It hadn't exactly been an apology but he'd clearly understood what her point had been. And even though she was still mad at him he was certainly right. The way they'd been with each other recently was not the best to start a project like this.

"And how do you suggest we do that?" she asked doubtful.

"We go back to where we started when working together."

Felice shot him a suspicious look. He calling the shots and she following his orders?

_Well, thanks but no thanks. _

Her eyes must have been an open book, because the next second Lennox was smirking.

"To being friends." he answered her unspoken question softly. Her head jerked up at the last word.

"I don't know if I can do that."

"Felice, this is not easy for me either. But can you please give it a shot?"

Felice looked at him, thunderstruck. William Lennox, the man always in charge and knowing what to do was struggling as well? And she was surprised to notice this not with satisfaction but rather could she relate to him. There was a moment's silence before she finally answered.

"OK."

Her voice was barely a whisper. She could not bring herself to look into his eyes while saying it. She was afraid he would see the uncertainty and somewhat fear about it. Was she really ready for this?

"Thank you." he replied with a little smile. It was more than he'd expected and he was glad that she gave him this chance. But looking at her, he could see her discomfort about the situation.

"So, Reigart is flying in from the Vinson and I am scheduled to meet with him and some of the flight staff here tomorrow morning, so why don't we hit the bars tonight?" he said in an attempt to make a joke to ease the tension.

She was about to tell him off, but then she saw the all too familiar grin emerging on his features. It was not the first time Felice had caught herself thinking that his smile was somewhat infectious. She reciprocated it grudgingly while folding her arms in front of her chest.

"Watch it." she muttered though she could not keep herself from reciprocating his smile. She shook her head in exasperation about the fact that she'd fallen for his prank that easily while she looked at him.

It was a nice thing to see him smile. It was like somebody had taken a weight from her shoulders she hadn't even notice it had been there. She held his gaze for a moment.

_You better get used to him being around more often_, she thought; then glanced to her watch. _So why not start now?_

"We'll be having our flight debriefing in a couple of minutes. Do you want to listen in? Just so you get an impression of what we're doing."

"I'd like to." Lennox took her offer with an astonished smile.

"I have to clear with the skipper first, but I think he won't mind."

Lennox nodded and followed Felice to the CO of base. Waiting in front of his office, he watched her exchange a few words with him, before he nodded his agreement. Then they made their way back to the Ready Room.

While walking through the corridors, Lennox spoke to her again. He'd made the mistake of not being honest with her once and he would not do it again. So he'd better start now with it.

"There's one more thing I have to tell you." he said, clearing his throat. Felice looked at him expectantly, tough a little cold. "Chris Edwards told me you guys would be meeting for dinner at 8:00 PM and … he invited me to join you."

Felice' head jerked up to him, wondering when the hell he'd talked Chris about their evening plans; anger flickering in her eyes for a second, but then she remembered their deal.

"Then you better don't be late." she replied irritably as she entered the Ready Room for the debriefing.

But as she sat down, supposed to listen to Bricks' introduction her thoughts trailed to her conversation with Lennox.

_Friends_, Felice thought silently, turning over the word in her head. Maybe she could to that.

* * *

><p>The flight debrief went on and when Bricks came to her flight, Felice was so focused on what he was telling her that she completely forgot about Lennox being in the same room. While discussing different strategies to optimize her maneuvers, shut out the conversation with her former CO and the feelings about what they had talked about. She knew she had to sort that out later and for now she was glad to be occupied with something else.<p>

The briefing ended after an hour. The small group of aviators left the room, Felice following Chris and the others outside to get some fresh air before they would meet in the small bar close to the air station. She watched Bricks and Lennox staying behind, involved in a conversation she dearly hoped was about NEST and _not_ about her.

A few minutes later, they made their way out of the closed grounds of the air station and to a bar in the small town adjacent to it. While Lennox still talked to Bricks who introduced him to a few other pilots, he could see Felice and Chris walking a few rows in front of him, chatting animatedly about something. Her blonde ponytail bounced of her back as she laughed about something Chris had told her and Lennox had trouble focusing on what Bricks was telling him. His thoughts were still at the conversation he had had with Felice earlier that day. Her consent to start all over again was more than he'd expected yet he could feel her keeping her distance.

After a short walk they reached the bar. Through the lit windows, Lennox could see that the place was already crowded, the neon sign above the entrance casting blue and red lights on the parking lot in front of it, illuminating a handful of cars and numerous motorcycles which had been parked here.

He followed the group of aviators inside and glanced around. The air inside the bar was filled with the chatter and laughter of the people inside and music came out of an old jukebox, wafting over to them. Female bartenders waved through the crowd, carrying large trays filled with glasses of beer or food.

Then, a sound to his left made him turn and he saw two women about Felice' age giggle and point in their direction.

"Here they come." the brunette, who was wearing a rather short dress and too much makeup for his taste, said to her friend who retorted: "Now, that's what I call a _target-rich environment_." And they burst into a renewed fit of laughter.

Lennox turned to Felice who was standing right next to him; an amused smile curling his lips as he saw her rolling her eyes at the obvious _Top Gun_-quotation.

"So, that's how you spent your evenings, huh?" he said, unable to keep the grin out of his voice as he watched her fellow aviators making their way through the room as if they owned this place. Now, he understood why they had not bothered to change out of their flight overalls. They were their trademark. Bathing in the admiring looks of the ladies, they took their seats at a table that had been reserved for them.

"Uh-huh." Felice nodded.

"How do you stand it?" he asked quietly; catching the look on her face.

"Beer. And a lot of it." Felice simply stated, exasperation but also amusement wavering through her words. "Come on, let's go."

She indicated him to follow her and sat down next to Boomer, returning his toast as they all received their drinks and suddenly realized that she'd just had a civil conversation with William Lennox that did not concern their work.

_Well, I'll drink to that_, she thought as she raised her glass to her lips.


	8. Chapter 8

Another visit at NAS Oceana had passed, rather too quickly for his liking, Lennox thought as he walked into the mess to get some coffee. While he was standing in line for the drinks, his gaze wandered over the hall, resting on one person.

Hunched over some documents while sipping a cup of tea, was Felice. Lennox observed her for a few moments while he shuffled forward. She was wearing her khaki flight overall, sleeves rolled up due to the hot weather outside, playing with the pen in her hand as she turned over a page.

Since she'd left NEST he could not help notice the change in her. Seeing her with her fellow aviators, doing training flights or when discussing their days work in the evenings, he wondered whether he'd ever seen her that happy while with his team in DC. There was a lot of teasing between the pilots and the competition was always on, but the Colonel could also see the appreciation of Felice as part of their group by her male coworkers.

Back in Washington, she'd been part of the team as well. But not like here, Lennox reflected on it. The others might have seen her more like a little sister who played along with the big boys whereas here, he saw that even the experienced aviators talked to Felice like an equal, seeking her advice and taking her… seriously – for a lack of better words. She'd had fought hard and overcome a lot of obstacles when joining his team, but here she seemed to be in an environment no less dangerous or challenging, but more to her advantage.

Lost in his thoughts, he hadn't noticed that he was still staring in Felice' direction when she looked up from her work and spotted him, waving him over.

"Hi." she smiled as he approached her table.

"May I?"

"Sure. How did the meeting go?" she asked while Lennox sat down opposite of her.

"Fine. I'll send you the details when I am back at HQ."

"Aren't those information a little above my pay grade?" Felice frowned.

"Not when I deem them essential for your work." Lennox prompted, looking at his cup of coffee, but not drinking from it. He was still dwelling on his thoughts. Had it been the right decision to pull her from the job she obviously loved so much?

"What's up?" Felice asked as she caught his look. He seemed not very happy.

"I heard you passed your qualifications."

Felice nodded with a proud grin.

"Top of the class and finally managed to get Bricks. You should have seen the look on his face." she laughed.

"Congrats."

"Thanks."

"So, you're really back in the game then?"

She looked at him as she heard the somewhat heavy tone in it.

"Yeah… we're starting recruit training in a few days." she replied wearily, unsure to react on his statement.

"You've picked them already?" Lennox asked astonished. He hadn't expected her to have worked on that end already.

"Yeah. Bricks and I have invited a few applicants to see how they are doing."

"I didn't know they need to pass another test."

"We don't pick from the bottom." Felice replied with a grin, then turned serious. "We are going to train twenty pilots for now, see how they are doing and how they fit into the team. I don't need a bunch of cowboys zooming around the skies, thinking that they are shit-hot fighter pilots just because they are spec-ops now."

Lennox smirked at her words, picturing her standing in front of a bunch of aviators and giving them a lecture. She would undoubtedly show them who the boss was. But he also noticed the sincerity in her words. Safety was a priority when flying those jets, he'd learned that over the past weeks whenever he'd been present to watch Felice, Bricks or some other pilot flying or preparing their sorties. Even though those pilots had quite some impressive egos, they knew their game and took their job seriously.

"If you need anything, anything at all, don't hesitate to call." he said, gazing towards her.

She hesitated for a second, then nodded with a genuine smile.

"Thanks."

"Colonel Lennox." Bricks had approached them without either of them noticing. "Optimus and Skydive have finished their discussion." he said a little awkwardly. It was obvious that he wasn't comfortable in being ordered around by the Autobots. "He is ready to leave now if you are, Sir."

"Thank you, Commander." Lennox replied with a nod before turning towards Felice.

"Well, good luck with your recruits." he said and rose.

"I'll call you and tell you how it went." she offered as she saw the still unhappy look on his face. She could tell he was worried about her, but this time she somehow took no offense in that.

"I wait by the phone." he replied.

She watched him follow Bricks towards the exit, returning his reassuring smile before he vanished through the door and was gone.

* * *

><p>"Are you ready?" Bricks asked as they stood in front of the conference room.<p>

Today would be the first day of the naval NEST program. They'd set up the training schedule, picked their recruits, got the clearance to start. Everything they'd worked for in the past couple of weeks was about to be put into action and they would finally get to know whether the program was as good as they hoped it would be.

"Let's do this." Felice smiled confidently and walked into the room.

* * *

><p>Felice didn't know why she felt that nervous, as she dialed Lennox' number that evening. They'd seen each other at work or with her fellow pilots a couple of times now, she tried to reason with herself as she fumbled with her phone. Maybe it was just the exhaustion of the week that lay behind her.<p>

The first days into the naval NEST program had been exhausting yet interesting. All the pilots they'd invited to participate were motivated and had listened to their introduction very focused. They'd also done their first couple of sorties, for now without Skydive and what they'd seen had put Felice and Bricks in a good mood. They'd seen tons of potential to work with.

_"__Lennox."_

Felice startled as she heard the familiar voice at the other end of the line.

"Hey, it's Felice."

_"__Hey Felice, how'd it go?"_ Lennox asked with a smile in his voice, obviously pleased about her call.

"Good." Felice replied, scolding herself for being so taciturn.

As expected, Lennox sensed that something was off.

_"__Is everything OK?" _

"Yeah, sure. I am sorry, it's just been a long week." she sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair.

_"__Tell me about that. Now you know what it's like to be in charge of a bunch of rookies."_ Felice could not help but laugh at his tone. She knew exactly how he disliked the first few days of sorting through the new recruits and training them to a level that met his high demands.

"It's not that bad." she smiled, relaxing into the conversation as she told Lennox about the first 'real' week of her new job.

* * *

><p>"…so keep that in mind. Next flight's at 1600. Dismissed."<p>

Lennox watched the group of ten men raise from their seats, filing out of the room. As they shuffled past him, his glance fell onto one of the last men to leave to room. He seemed vaguely familiar to him yet he could not read the name on his overall for he'd passed him already. He stepped into the doorframe and knocked to announce his presence.

"May I?"

At the sound of the familiar voice, Felice looked up from her files.

"Hey. What brings you here?"

"Meeting with Reigart again. We have to fix the date for your carrier qualifications." Lennox replied as he watched her packing up.

Felice put down the file she'd been holding, eyeing him suspiciously. She'd expected Lennox to turn up on base and checking on her at some point but three weeks into the program was rather soon.

"This meeting is tomorrow." she frowned, not able to shake the feeling that he was controlling her. "So why are you here then?"

"To see how you're doing." Lennox confirmed her suspicions.

"I can handle this." she snapped irritably.

"I know, and I am just curious." Lennox replied evenly, ignoring her harsh tone.

Felice glared at him for a few moments, then sighed and ruffled through her hair.

"I am sorry." she breathed. "It's just been a long day."

She'd been up since four o'clock, departed for her first sortie at six and not left her aircraft until half an hour ago. She was tired and hungry and had hoped for some quiet after lunch before she would be airborne once again.

Lennox sensed her tension because he smiled at her consolingly.

"Are you hungry?"

"Starving."

"Well, then let's go."

Smiling at him, Felice put down the paperwork and followed him out of the Ready Room.

They ate their lunch at one of the tables in the mess that was reserved for guests, Lennox filling her up with news from their team back at DC. They still hadn't made any progress in capturing the White Ghost yet there hadn't been any more attacks.

"So, no news is good news." Lennox concluded, but sounding not very convinced by his own words.

"Yeah, but it doesn't solve the problem either." Felice added gloomily as she put down her cup of coffee. By the look in his eyes, she could tell that not capturing the White Ghost was driving Lennox crazy and there was nothing she could do to help… yet.

"Anyway. How's training going on?" Lennox asked, dismissing the topic of the White Ghost.

Felice smiled.

"Well… they are motivated and they have great potential." she replied, choosing her words carefully.

"But?" Lennox asked, having smelled a rat already.

Felice sighed.

"The old story, you know. Big egos and so on. Nothing I can't handle." she added quickly.

"I am sure of that." Lennox smirked. "Anybody sticking out already?"

To his astonishment he watched Felice roll her eyes.

"You bet." she grimaced. "See the guy over there? Second to the right, black hair, now talking to his neighbor."

Lennox followed her gaze. It was the same man he'd seen exiting the Ready Room earlier; the same man he'd thought he knew from somewhere else.

"That's Kevin Galloway. Thinks he's something special, but so far everybody except him has managed to get to Skydive at least once. Compensates it with risky flying. I don't like that, but Bricks wanted him in the squadron. I don't know what he sees in the guy, but… hey, are you alright?" she trailed off as she saw the look on Lennox' face.

He'd gone quite rigid, but as he heard the concern in her voice he smiled at her, though a little distractedly.

"Yes, of course. Sorry." he hastened to mask his thoughts. "So Bricks wants to keep him?"

Felice frowned.

"Yeah, I know I shouldn't say that as an instructor, but I don't like him…"

"You don't?" Lennox interrupted her yet again.

Felice gazed at him. Something was going on here, she could feel it. Suddenly, a bad feeling bubbled up inside her. But Lennox couldn't possibly know about her issues with Kevin Galloway's father, National Security Advisor Theodore Galloway! She'd made damn sure that it had been kept out of her records. Aside from Admiral Reigart who'd covered up her stunt only Chris knew what had really happened.

"No…" she replied slowly, watching her opposite very intently now. "Lennox, what is going on?"

"Nothing." he said, a little too brightly to sound convincing.

"Are you kidding me? I can see that something's going on here." Felice pressed on.

"I can't tell you…" Lennox began.

He instantly knew he'd said the wrong thing, the second he saw the hardened look in her eyes. He'd used the very sentence that had led them here. He felt the mounting tension and the air become slightly cold as he and Felice stared at each other. He watched the storm of emotions rage in her green-and-blue eyes as the silence enfolded.

"Skydive has invented some new stuff we're going to test this afternoon. Want to come and watch?" she finally said; her voice clipped and her eyes remaining cold as she spoke.

"I'd like to." Lennox replied, wondering how much damage those few thoughtless words had done to their renewed yet fragile friendship.

* * *

><p>That evening, Lennox fired up his laptop as soon as he was in his room, logging in to the secure NEST network. His clearance permitted him access to a lot of files and he had no trouble finding what he had been looking for.<p>

Opening the file of Kevin Galloway, he looked through the documents until he'd found his suspicions confirmed.

"Son of a bitch…" he murmured as he ran his hand through his hair.

Not only was Felice running a taskforce that had to fulfill a dangerous job, she'd already expressed her displeasure about Kevin Galloway. What if the two got into an argument? Lennox knew Felice' smart mouth all too well and judging by Galloway junior's behavior she'd described earlier, he trusted him to call his father and then _God help us_.

He didn't want her to pay for his actions, yet he knew that Galloway would take the chance to come after him if it presented itself in due course. General Morshower had vouched for him back then but Galloway had not forgotten about it, he was certain about that.

His thoughts wandered back to the afternoon where he'd listened to Felice and Skydive explaining their mission goal and watched them flying for about an hour until they returned to base. While the young woman had expressed her concerns about Galloway's behavior, Lennox had noticed that she was her usual professional self around him, treating him like any other recruit… or maybe a bit more polite?

Was it because he – Lennox – had been present? Because she knew about his issues with Theodore Galloway? But how could she?

Groaning about the situation, he sank back into his chair, staring at the file that was still displayed on the monitor. They had to be careful. Very careful.


	9. Chapter 9

"Hey, I am only leaving for three months. It's not even a real deployment. Just training with the black lines."

Felice gave Lennox a soft smile as they stood side by side at the airstrip in front of the hangar, watching the small crowd of aviators and their families say their farewells before they would be flown to the aircraft carrier. The sun was shining and both of them wore their sunglasses, but Felice didn't have to look in Lennox' eyes to guess his mood. His whole body language read tension.

It was obvious that the Colonel did not like the fact that she would be out of reach for the next few weeks and frankly, she didn't want to leave him either. Aside from their little argument in the mess the day she'd told him about Kevin Galloway, they'd gotten along very well lately. Felice was glad to have Lennox back as a friend yet most of their conversations resolved around work. Both of them carefully avoided more delicate, personal, topics.

"Hmm…"

"They need to get their carrier qualifications. Reigart insisted that it would be part of the program even though they all passed it in flight school."

Lennox snorted.

"Jesus, Will! You are such a…" she halted in her speech as he turned to her, fixing her with a glare. "Call it off, if you don't like it. You are the boss for heaven's sake!"

"It's not about the program."

"Then what is your problem?" Felice asked, truly bewildered by her friend's strange behavior.

The Colonel took a deep breath.

"I just think that training here is more than enough. Moving operations to the carrier makes this whole program…"

"… more real?" Felice finished the sentence quietly, sudden realization dawning on her.

Lennox nodded, taking off his shades while unconsciously stepping a little closer to her.

"I worry about you." he said quietly.

Felice returned his gaze. There was no longing in his voice, no trace of a hidden attempt to get her back, just sincere concern.

"I'll be fine." she smiled, touching his arm and squeezing it reassuringly.

Lennox reciprocated her smile, though a little doubtful. He then watched her heading towards her men, assembling them and heading for the helicopters, which would take them to the boat.

* * *

><p>The alarm clock woke Lennox from a deep exhausted slumber. The past days training had been intense, yet he was not willing to loosen their daily routine while there was no imminent threat. Still drowsy, he rose and after a quick shower, he got dressed and made himself some coffee, his glaze flickering towards the calendar pinned to his fridge.<p>

Another three weeks and Felice and her squadron would return from their training exercises on the boat. He'd not spoken to her lately because she was so wrapped up in work, but every few days he would get an email from her, giving him a brief heads-up on the progress of her recruits. Though she was not telling him directly, he read between the lines well enough to know that she was still having trouble with Kevin Galloway. He sighed, feeling a strong urge to help her, but knowing that she would turn down his offer at once.

His thoughts still with the Navy officer, he took his cup of coffee to the counter, sat down and switched on the TV to catch up on the morning news. He was about to take the first sip of his drink, when something on the news made him freeze in his movement.

_"… __Today at 0500, an F-18 Super Hornet crashed in the Atlantic. The jet was part of a joined Navy and Air Force program, yet verification of this information is still pending. The ministry of defense did not release information about the identity of the pilots involved and whether there are any casualties, but footage from the crash site suggests…"_

Lennox did not hear the rest of the announcement for in that moment his phone began rang. With numb fingers, he took it from the counter and raised it to his ear.

"Lennox."

_"__Colonel Lennox, I believe you know what…"_

"Are there any casualties?" Lennox interrupted General Morshower, whose voice he'd recognized at once.

_"__I've not spoken to Admiral Reigart yet because we've trouble establishing a line of communication. I hoped you could tell me more."_ Morshower replied calmly.

Lennox cursed. Why on earth was this happening every time communication was of the essence?! He ran his hand through his hair, pacing the length of his apartment.

"No, Sir. But I'll be at headquarters in 10." he said tersely, hoping to hide the hint of panic in his voice.

_"__I'll expect your report ASAP."_ Morshower replied and ended the call.

* * *

><p>Lennox could not remember the last time he'd gotten to work that fast. Not sure whether he'd still have his driver's license by the end of this week, regarding the pile of traffic violations he'd just committed, he brought his car to a halt in his usual parking spot and strode briskly towards the entrance of NEST headquarters.<p>

He took a deep breath before entering the dimly lit room and made his way over to Scott, who was on the phone with somebody. The look on his team mate's face told him that it was about the crash. With mounting unease he waited for him to end the call and when he finally put down the receiver, he asked at once:

"What do we know?"

"Training accident. Skydive was involved and two F-18, but they are not releasing any names. SAR is still in progress." Scott summed up the conversation.

"How long will it take?"

"They're calling back as soon as the copper gets back to the boat." Scott replied, looking just as anxious as Lennox.

* * *

><p>The next two hours where nothing short of torture. It took Lennox all his self-control to maintain his cool, yet his thoughts were wrapped around various scenarios involving Felice and a crashed jet.<p>

One after the other, his team members arrived at work and having heard about the accident on the news and worrying about Felice with him. At some point, the whole NEST team was sitting in the headquarters, waiting for a word that their fellow team member, their 'girl' was alright.

When, after what seemed an eternity, the phone finally rang, Lennox put it on speaker so everybody could hear the news; good or bad.

_"__Colonel Lennox, this is Admiral Reigart."_ a familiar male voice came through the speakers.

"Admiral, what can you tell us about the crash?" Lennox asked; his hands propped up on the desk, staring at the phone, as if it would tell him more than the voice coming from it.

_"__Not much. Reconstruction of the events is still in progress, yet SAR has been completed. The pilots are alright."_

There was a collective sigh of relief and smiles were exchanged. But Lennox pressed on.

"But there were rumors about casualties."

And to his astonishment, he heard the other man snort with laughter. Or had he?

"I beg your pardon, Sir?"

_"__I'll pass you through."_ Reigart merely said and the line went silent.

Lennox looked up to his team mates. By the hearing of Reigart's tone, he knew that this was no conversation that should be overheard by the whole team.

"Everybody, clear the room." he ordered and watched the men file out. He disabled the speaker-function and picked up the receiver, waiting apprehensively for the connection to be established.

* * *

><p>"Manning." she snapped as she took that call by the first ring of the phone in the empty corridor. The last thing she wanted was to explain what had happened to some paper-pushing punk for the hundredth time. But as she heard the familiar voice at the other end of the line, she calmed down immediately.<p>

_"__Felice, are you alright?"_

She'd rarely heard Lennox sound so desperate and scared. Sighing, she ran her fingers through her hair.

"I am fine, Will. Relax." she replied in her calmest voice as she leaned against the metal wall next to the phone.

_"__Are you sure? We saw the news. The jet that crashed… They said there were casualties."_

Felice snorted scornfully.

"Yeah, when you call a concussion a severe injury."

Lennox seemed to be taken aback by her reply because the line remained silent for a few seconds.

_"__Who was involved then?"_

"Take a guess." she said with a mirthless laugh.

_"__Oh, you've got to be kidding me!"_

"Nope. Kevin Galloway put his nose right at Skydive who was not paying attention at that moment and could not avoid the collision. He got clipped at the right wing. The jet was no longer maneuverable and he had to eject. But aside from a concussion and some scratches when he went down he's fine."

_"__So you were not involved in the accident?"_

"No, I was his wingman but as an instructor I am also responsible for…"

_"__What are you talking about, Felice?"_ Lennox cut through her speech. _"He fucked up and he can be glad that nobody got killed."_

"Yeah, but you know him and…" she trailed off. No, she could not tell him about Galloway senior. But Lennox appeared not to have heard her hesitation for plunged on in his rant.

_"__You let me deal with that…"_ he said something definitely not PG-rated that made her scold him, but she turned serious immediately.

"This is serious, Will. We have to be careful. There's a lot at stake here."

_"__I know."_ he replied. _"I know. But I see what I can do."_

"No, you've risked your career enough times for me." she said and this time it was without the slightest trace of anger about his past actions. She was – she realized now – grateful for what he'd done for her and the possibilities that had opened up on the way after all. "I was in charge that day. My orders, my responsibility."

There was a moment's pause before Lennox spoke again.

_"__Fine, but if there's anything you need…"_

"I will call." she finished his sentence with a genuine smile and for the first time in months she felt unconditionally glad to have Lennox standing by her side, offering his help.


End file.
